The brownstone's wooden entrance opened and the bitter chill of the New York winter snuck in momentarily before raging winds slammed the doors closed behind Kol. Ana kept her head buried in her work as she wrote in her notebook, the slight scratch of her fountain pen across paper accompanied by the crackle of the faux-fireplace on her laptop screen. She sighed mournfully over her empty mug and flipped through the giant paperwork stack on the dining table she commandeered. The sound of leather brushing against denim appeared behind her. She lifted her gaze to meet Kol's mischievous grin as he loomed over her.

"Anything new?"

"They're in New Orleans," he said.

The barest breath of space existed between them. He had brought the cold in with him despite the central heating and her thin black turtleneck did minimal work in guarding her against it. She turned around and the walnut dining table dug into her back as she stared up at him.

"And how do you know that?"

He waved his hand and sprawled onto the empty chair beside her. "We lived there in the nineteenth century as rulers of the supernatural community. With the governor, even." Kol gave a dismissive, cursory glance over her work before a conspiratorial grin flashed across his face. "There's whispers and warnings about stepping into the city for anyone supernatural. The return of the Hybrid King and a potential war for control over the city. Nik and his terrible temper runs legendary throughout history. He always left too many survivors behind in my opinion—I have much less enemies than him for those exact reasons."

"Hybrid King?"

Kol scoffed at Ana's blank look and grasped her hands. "Darling," he scolded, "you're disappointing me with your lack of knowledge. I'm supposed to be the one out of my depths, aren't I?"

"I didn't live on this continent until two years ago. Nothing was, or is, trying to kill me. So, it really wasn't my problem." She flicked off his cold questing fingers stealing bits of warmth from the little slips of exposed skin beyond her wrists. "Stop that. You're freezing."

He gave up with a sigh and folded his hands over the back of his neck. "My brother is a hybrid. A werewolf-vampire and a clear disturbance of the peace. It doesn't help that he'll be up against Marcellus."

"...you really need to stop saying names that mean nothing to me." Ana cradled her cheek against her palm and fiddled with her sleeves.

" Marcellus is Nik's adoptive son," he sneered. "Everyone had thought he died. I guess the Mikaelson name inspires betrayals of all kinds and to think that the bloody lot of them chose him over me."

Her brow quirked slightly. "Chose him over you?"

Kol went silent, as if contemplating his next words. He shook his head. "It's nothing, darling. A bit of our very complex past and family history."

She tilted her head but left the matter alone. "Why does anyone want control over the city? What's so good about New Orleans?"

"It's the crown jewel of supernatural cities. Do you lack aspirations for world domination, darling? I didn't think you were the ambitionless type."

"Ruling is all fun and games until everyone comes to you to solve their problems or plot to dethrone you in the most violent ways instead of peaceful negotiations." She wrinkled her nose. "It's annoying."

Kol brushed his leg against hers. "Must you always be so reasonable and rational?"

"Someone has to be." Ana picked up her pen back up and went back to her work. "Do you feel ready for a road trip or a flight to warmer weather? You won't have a white Christmas there but you'll see your family."

Her hair fell out and obstructed her full view of the pages as she dipped her head. Kol reached over to tuck the loose strands behind her ear and granted her a full view of the paperwork. His cool fingertips briefly rested on the apple of her cheek before he pulled away.

"No. Not yet," he said, finally.

She hummed. "Any ideas for dinner?"

"A restaurant," he suggested. "You'll need to give me a tour of this new era and the multitude of cuisines, darling. You've signed yourself up for the job."

"In this weather?" Ana blinked at him. "And I don't remember sending in this application."

"It came with your impromptu resurrection of the most handsome man you've laid eyes on."

She glanced at him. "I'm sorry, but you can't claim that title, Kol."

A slightly twisted expression passed across his face as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "And who does?"

"No one you know," she said and tapped the end of her pen against his nose. "How about a new experience, then?"

"You won't be able to avoid my questions forever. I'm immortal, darling." He leaned over her. His leather jacket had warmed up, the brush of it nearly hot against her thin turtleneck, and his dark brown eyes bored into her. "Don't tempt me now and leave me unfulfilled. It'd be cruel and unusual of you."

Ana tilted her head back—she hated how tall Kol was at times. Her neck hurt from all the times he towered over her even while sitting. His time as a ghost had corroded all sense of personal space; he was always too close, always grazing against her, and his proximity forced her to look up all too often. As a ghost, she never really had the inclination to maintain eye contact with him.

"It's called omakase sushi. It's a private service dinner and you get to interact with the chef."

There were an innumerable amount of omakase sushi bars within New York but she had a special one in mind. An exclusive, word-of-mouth only experience where she personally knew the chef. The restaurant was hidden away in an alleyway of a residential area, and she could already picture the warm atmosphere, fragrant wood, and private room. It was a near similar experience to something back at home. Kol might enjoy watching the food prepared before him while chatting with the chef and Ana doubted he experienced anything similar with his numerous life stories before he died.

Her only issue was how gossip filtered through the entire Japanese community in New York. The news of her dining with an unknown man would reach her family's ears. It was a certain fact with her uncle in the city, and regardless of how much she paid anyone, it would circle back to every Tokudaiji that still drew breath. Across the world, cultural differences aside, everyone from anywhere was some form of nosy, and her family was populated by gossip-hungry and overprotective vultures. She loved them but it was a chore dodging their invasive curiosity whenever it peaked.

"Don't bother dressing up," she advised. "It's a very casual, homey place and I know the owner. He prefers patrons comfortable despite the five-star service."

"How is it that you seem to know everyone in this city, darling? You don't live here and you claim to know no one."

"It's either family connections or reputation. I don't know many personally," she said. "But everyone knows of everyone. That's how it is, and anyone who's anyone knows someone from my family when they see them."

"The curse of family legacies," he murmured. "At least there's an upside with such things as preferential service. I haven't experienced that as a Mikaelson. The preferential service is attempted murder and betrayal."

"There's always an upside." Ana stood up and rolled her ankles. "You just have to decide whether or not it outweighs the drawbacks."

Kol stretched with a sigh and followed her lead. "And do they?"

"I haven't decided," she said. "And I won't get to for a while because I know Chef Moriyama personally from back home."

"I sense a delightful little story behind that, darling."

Ana smiled slightly. "Well, I'd hate to steal his thunder. He likes to tell the story every time he meets someone I know."

"Well, darling, it seems that we will have to brave that detestable cold for our dinner." He held out his hand gallantly. "Shall we go, my lady?"

"Returning to your nobleman past, are you?" She looked out the double-glazed doors to the back garden where the whistling winds disrupted the leafless trees and thin blanket of snow. "You'll have to wait, Sir Kol. I actually need a jacket."

Throughout the week after the discovery of his siblings' locations, Kol had absconded from the house the moment she returned from her morning run. He mentioned something about rebuildings his network and sireline before his return amongst his family. She had some clue about what it meant but didn't bother prying further. He returned in time for dinner, kept his guest room clean, drank out of the blood bags she provided, and didn't drag dead bodies onto her doorsteps. As far as she was concerned, he was her friend and not one of the souls she was guiding. Her ability to delve deep wasn't required in a friendship unless asked for.

New York City, according to Kol, held a lot more worth beyond all of the complaints he had laid out in the previous weeks.

"Despite the terrible traffic, bothersome humans, and rat-infested streets, this city is perfect for my purposes," he told her. "A city of possibilities and potential connections just like those awful subways you take, darling."

When she offered him the keys to her car, after all of his public transportation complaints, he had scowled. New York City truly had no upsides when it came to methods of transit but he had the upper hand of supernatural speed without magical enhancements so any of Ana's sympathy was false and indulgent. She preferred walking but that grew tiresome with slushy walkways riddled with trash and the constant maintenance of her barrier against the cold. There were no other options for her unless she wanted to cause real alarm amongst the inhabitants of the most populous city in America.

Again, today, he left her at home with a quick mischievous grin, the promise not to bring any trouble home, and she had settled in her living room with her secret, sealed journals. The pages contained illustrations and concepts of unfinished techniques, potions, spells, and rituals. Her phone vibrated against her coffee table.

Heejin Kim is starting a group video call…

Ana answered and set her phone against her laptop screen.

Heejin's umber-brown eyes took up the entirety of the screen before she pulled away to reveal her soft puppy-like features. Her golden skin glowed beneath the warm lighting overhead and the rose gold of her nose piercing glinted. Her painted red lips curled up in her signature smirk-smile.

"Heejinnie, how's Korea?" Ana asked, automatically slipping into Korean. "This isn't an emergency call, is it?"

"Wow, you haven't slacked on your Korean," she said. "Afraid you'll be detained by the NIS again? You almost sound like a native."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Korea is Korea. There's a new case every two weeks and sometimes I have to sneak across the border. I wish we got paid for this," she grumbled. "It would never be enough but it'd be nice."

"You should appeal to The Grand Council for a salary." She set her journal down and leaned forward. "They'll pay you just to shut you up."

"I have one. It's a fat check every two weeks but I want the gods to pay in more than cash. I don't know how you managed a case every three days back then. This is killing me."

"Self-loathing and over-efficiency," Ana said. "A stereotypical combo."

The screen split and Jasmine's familiar face appeared in the corner. Her sharp and catlike features softened as her full lips curved into a large and sunny smile. The ochre-brown of her eyes caught the sunlight and the honey hues of the morning coloured her side of the call.

"Jasmine," Heejin greeted. Her eyes narrowed. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Ana's place." Jasmine waved. Her lacey white bell-sleeves flowed with the movement. "Watering and feeding her little plants, receiving her packages, checking on her greenhouse, and eating all of her snacks. I feel like a little housewife."

Another black rectangle split the screen in the other corner.

"...so, I'm guessing things didn't work out with the ginger," Ana said. "And you better restock my snacks. I have an inventory of them. I'll know if they're missing."

Koji popped into frame, tugging on his camo-printed shirt. His clear marble-chiselled features were set in a distinctly smug expression as his lips curled into a self-satisfied smirk. Hypnotic charcoal-black eyes, a near similar colour to the wavy locks framing his face, were stark against his tanned skin.

"Did you think they'd last?" he said. "Her longest relationship was two months long because she couldn't escape the country in the last month."

"You're so fucking rude," Heejin said.

Her twitching lips gave away her amusement when Jasmine's face twisted into a pout. Ana hid a laugh behind a cough and her fist.

"All of you need to shut up," Jasmine said.

Koji shrugged. "No. You have terrible taste in men and nobody deserves my girls."

"Aw." She leaned forward with an adoring smile. "That's sweet."

"Shut up. He said that last bit to get out of trouble." Heejin rolled her eyes. "He loves roasting every man we date because he knows he's better than all of them combined."

Ana laughed. "He did and he is. Better than them all."

"Says the girl who's never dated," Jasmine teased.

"All the better for it," she said.

"Speaking of dating and the girl who has never dated anyone," Koji interrupted. "I heard something interesting and it's the only reason why I'm here. How is your boyfriend, Ana?"

Jasmine gasped. "You have a boyfriend?"

Heejin groaned. "We've lost another one to the men."

"As far as I know, I'm not dating anyone. No need for the dramatics," Ana said dryly. "I could be wrong, though."

"Someone spotted you at an exclusive omakase and it's making the rounds in your family. Tetsuo asked me if I fucking knew anything." Koji scoffed. "I told him you'd rather die than be caught dating anyone in public."

"You're right. I'm on supernatural business."

"Boo." Jasmine pouted. "I wanted to interrogate him."

"Like you two haven't terrorized half of the men who applied for Ana's matchmaking meetings. You're almost worse than her cousins," Heejin said. "What the hell are you even doing Koji?"

The man in question had strapped himself up with a staff and a shield over camouflage combat-style clothing throughout the conversation. He pulled a black mask over the bottom half of his face and peered into the camera.

"I did not sign up for adult content when I answered this call," Ana said. "If a man crawls in from the other room, I'm leaving."

"Shut up. These are preparations to trawl through a bog to get whatever the fuck these knobheads want," he griped, voice muffled by the fabric. "This place is miserable and I don't want to smell like a wet sock for the next year."

Jasmine squinted. "Where are you?"

"Scotland," he said.

"Try not to get an athlete's foot," she warned. "Bogs are disgusting."

"We have magical means of healing," Ana reminded.

Heejin scoffed. "He sucks at that, though."

"He's better than everyone else at potion-making and elixirs," Ana pointed out. "I'd trust his potions over anyone's. Remember your chronic stomach aches in high school?"

"I miss when we were in school," Jasmine said.

"We're still in school. You're trudging your way through a software engineering degree even though you could either coast on family money or social media sponsorships. You send me at least ten texts about it everyday while eating all of my snacks."

"I meant high school," she said. "When we did supernatural assignments together."

"And when you almost got us caught?" Heejin asked. "While you were livestreaming like a soulless influencer?"

"High school? What the fuck was there to miss?" Koji interjected in disbelief. "The time we got arrested? When we got stuck in Hokkaido during winter? The time the world almost ended and we had to stop it?"

"I would've forgotten we were arrested if I didn't remember the god-awful interrogation. Jamila almost had a nervous breakdown," Heejin said dryly. "They didn't even read us our rights. Did they know how to do their jobs?"

"She really did think they would frame us and send us straight to jail without the proper paperwork," Jasmine giggled. "Gabriel and Ana were way too calm, though."

"I kept asking for a lawyer and Gabe was thinking about that submission for the art school."

"It's good that we didn't get that lawyer. If the police found out you're a Tokudaiji, it'd be on the front page news," Koji said. "We couldn't even call anyone to bail us out because we refused to give our names. My parents would've killed me if they knew."

"No, they wouldn't have. You're the only one with normal parents." Ana rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing that Tomoko got us out."

"I still don't see why we couldn't call any of your cousins instead of your gardener," Heejin said.

She sighed. "I told you, they would've held it over my head forever."

A ding interrupted their reminiscing and Heejin's face came closer towards the camera.

Her eyes narrowed and hardened. "Ana, Gabriel sent you an email. Did you get it? He wants to know."

"Oh, it's the one about the Grand Council," Jasmine clarified. "I got it, too. I tried to do something about it but they're…"

"Complete dickheads," Koji finished.

"Don't worry about it," Ana dismissed. "I've got it handled."

"They're getting out of hand," Heejin said. "Overstepping especially with the demons and their sanctuaries. It might start some conflict."

"Lord Yukihira informed me over a month ago. I'll be back to fix it with him after Christmas but I already wrote them a letter." Ana waved it off. "My own family's council is acting up so I'll be occupied when I come back to say the least."

"Someone else is asking about you, by the way," Heejin said casually. "If you're coming back sometime soon to visit, you'll definitely run into him."

"Who?"

"Tall, disgustingly handsome, silver hair, and hazel eyes. Ring any bells?" A sly smile crossed her adorable face and everyone else on the call seemed just as mischievous. "You might have saved him from being brainwashed? He found me through your Instagram."

"Oh, is it that cute one who wrote a song for her?" Jasmine said, cupping her cheeks. "I really liked him for her."

Ana blinked. "Jaeyoon?"

"Silver hair?" Koji said. "Ana, are you engaging in elder abuse?"

"He's twenty-five."

"That's old compared to us." He tutted, shaking a finger at her. "You might as well rob a grave."

She rolled her eyes. "What about him?"

"He wants to see you again." Heejin smirked. "Maybe offer a little arranged marriage since he heard about the fact your family opened up those applications. His family is loaded. I checked."

"Wow, finally something interesting!" Jasmine said.

"She's going to say no," Koji said. "Everyone realises that, right?"

"Go off to your little bog, swamp man," Heejin said. "She might just say yes. He's fucking fine and that's coming from me."

"She's right here and thinks you're all overreacting," Ana said. "It's just a business transaction and a piece of paper."

Their voices blended together as they protested against her words and she laughed quietly. She missed her ridiculous friends and their antics. As much as she liked Kol, she wished she could conclude with this whole ordeal so she could see them again. It had been too long since all of them had seen each other. There were too many things tearing them apart, too many responsibilities for them to uphold since they left high school.

If only the world and the gods weren't so intent on inflicting their will through them.

In the dim grey luminescence of dawn, he awoke, thrashing on unfamiliar and rumbling streets, disoriented and suffocating. The air in his lungs was thin and strained, felted and punched out. He gasped but his mouth and throat were drier than deserts. It almost reminded him of his past as a human, ill and mortal and fragile beyond belief as he quivered under illness—his body fraught with sweat and aches as it battled against unknown diseases.

Finn pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around, near delirious.

A deluge of old sodden snow surrounded him. The signs of middling winter in the air. An indication of his current locations; closer to the north than the south. No jungles or forests or deserts—he was nowhere he recognised within an instant. A fact that might change once he left the alleyway. He forced his body up, opening and closing his fists, and with failing hopes, he ran his hand through the brick-laid building beside him.

It passed through cleanly and, despite his better judgement, he found himself disappointed.

Finn looked around.

Despite the familiar bone-deep knowledge of his current intangibility, this was not the afterlife he knew. This was not the Other Side. He could not see any of the other supernatural creatures plaguing the false plane of purgatory. His mother no longer lurked over his shoulder, her soothing voice melting over his ears as she tried to coax him to betray his siblings once more.

And it meant his search for Kol was no longer a viable option.

His surroundings, too, were unfamiliar and he found himself troubled with unanswered questions. Where was he? What had happened to him? How had he appeared here?

It was a modern city, bustling with life and light and noise, but unrecognisable. He was in a near-empty alley but it was quite unlike the one behind the Mystic Grill where he died. This one was muck-covered and rife with refuse. If he were corporeal, he'd be disgusted with the state he found himself in. As it was, he was dead and untouched by the debris.

He winced as he stepped out onto the street.

In all of his thousand years of existence, he had never experienced such piercing cacophony. The horns of those terrible automobiles, the screech of traffic, the meshing of voices—everything about the modern era, despite the advancements, were too much for him. If he only had those years to adjust, to find his footing. Finn found himself at a loss as to the next step of his journey until something within his soul was set to fire. He gripped the spot over his sternum and his gaze flickered, searching for the culprit, only to find himself unable to turn away from a distant silhouette approaching him.

A slip of a girl sprinting against the wind.

The girl endured the frigid winter air, slick asphalt, and unceasing snowfall as she raced down the sidewalks towards him. Her delicate skin reddened, bitten by the cold, and her appearance grew more clear. A flurry of white snowflakes decorated her hair like strings of diamonds and the black mass of her hair framed her charming elfin features. She had unbelievably large and clear eyes framed by thick inky lashes catching the snow.

None of the humans took note of her despite the unusual activity but he supposed it was some feat of disillusionment and suggestive magic. After all, Finn could feel the supernatural link anchoring him to her. He knew that pull; familiar and undeniable.

Finn had grown at his mother's knee, guarding her while she studied in Ayana's home and under her tutelage. He had strayed near Kol while he practised the arts in secret as a child, hoping to find some connection to Freya through his second youngest brother. Magic had made its home in his life and within him once, but he was never quite as taken as his other siblings. He found him more alike to Elijah and Klaus in such matters, a fact that disgruntled him to no end. As it was, witches and magic had surrounded him his entire life.

This was nothing new to him.

A familiar comfort, even.

He followed the girl as she ran through the streets, intent on interrogating or observing her until he found the answer to his questions. Either she was a creature of magic responsible for his current circumstances or could help him with his situation.

She paused on the slick steps of a home built from brick and mortar, rustic and reminiscent of olden architecture styles. Her keys jingled as she opened the doors to her home. The bright lights filtered out onto the gloomy vestibule bracketed by iron.

"Kol!" the girl called out. "I'm home."

Finn's heart jumped into his throat.

He followed her up the steps, hurried, and passed through the closed doors. He lurked in the shadows, watching and waiting, until he laid eyes upon the brother he had been searching for.

Ana brushed out the melting snow from her slightly damp hair and tossed her jacket onto the coat hanger. She discarded her waterproof runners before she ghosted through the house towards the bright incandescent lights of the kitchen where she had heard Kol. He was leaning against the island, watching the glass kettle as it heated up.

"What's this?"

"This is tea, darling," he said. "If these appliances didn't take so bloody long, I'd have had one prepped for you already."

"The kettle takes five minutes at most," she said.

"Too bloody long."

"Please tell me you picked the loose leaf tea. The box of bagged stuff is for people I don't like." Ana rested her hip against the island drawers.

"I'm not a mongrel, darling." He lifted a hand to his chest, looking terribly wounded at her insinuation. "I am a gentleman with an unmatched amount of class and good looks that'll make you a proper cuppa."

"You're ridiculous is what you are," she said.

Her lips tilted up into a half-smile as she stole his stool and a piece of shortbread she made yesterday. He winked at her and pulled out the glass tea set hidden away in the cupboards.

"This cannot be possible."

Ana startled. Her magic flared beneath her skin as she spun around on the stool towards the origins of the voice. She raised her hand at the shadow of a man lingering in the corner of the kitchen, caught between the dining area and main corridor. A pearl-white halo surrounded his giant frame as he stepped into the light. His eyes laid upon Kol like a man chasing a mirage in the desert.

"What is it?" Kol appeared at her side as she stood, ignoring the kettle as it beeped. "Ana, darling?"

She blinked and shut her eyes—praying the man would go away. "Kol, do you see the man in the corner of the room?"

Kol narrowed his eyes and pulled her behind him. He looked around, his lips lifted into a half-snarl. "Come out from your foxhole or I'll gut you and strew your bones and entrails throughout the city while you remain alive."

"That's a no," Ana said and stepped out from behind him. "And I'm sure they're another ghost so the threats don't work. The gods sent me back to back mandatory assignments."

She walked forward and studied the man invading her home closely.

He was classically handsome with sculpted and solemn features. The strong planes of his face gave into a softer expression as he looked down at her and then, once more, beyond her towards Kol. His tawny-brown hair was softly-styled to reveal deep, expressive hazel eyes. He reminded her of Koji with his lean yet broad frame, not unlike her athlete friends in high school who looked like they'd been carved purely out of marble.

If he claimed to be a statue brought to life, she'd be inclined to believe him. The gods had taken extra care when creating him.

"You can see me," he said calmly. "You're a witch."

"Not quite," she said. "I'm Ana, professional meddler and priestess."

"I am Finn Mikaelson," he said. His voice was deep and smooth. The words that poured forth were strangely accented—a mix of British and something else. Similar to the South African accents she encountered during her travels. "Kol's brother."

She paused and turned to examine the two brothers. The gods were hand-picking suspiciously good-looking men from the same family, back to back, for her assignments. If there was a message they were trying to send, she couldn't quite decipher it.

Ana looked at Kol's tense expression.

"He says his name is Finn Mikaelson," she said. "Your brother."

Kol let out a series of curses.

Ana's eyes slid back over to his brother's presumed station.

His family always had to ruin things for him but he had never expected Finn to appear out of nowhere. He had expected anyone else to appear and drag him down to New Orleans for a variety of reasons; Nik and his empire, Elijah and his never-ending quest for Nik's redemption, or Rebekah for someone else to suffer with her. Finn was never in the cards but he should've thought of it. He should've expected the vagaries of life would throw a wrench in all of his plans and the most unexpected one of them all.

Despite their differences—age, philosophies, morals—Finn was the least likely perpetrator of wrongs against him unless fuelled by their mother's motivations, but even she, in her intent to kill them all, focused primarily on Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. Kol was an afterthought to them all; some days he hated them for it, but other times, like this one, he found solace in it. His mother undoubtedly forgot him in her goals to eliminate their family, but with Finn's appearance, he was no longer quite sure.

"Is he alone?" Kol asked.

"Yes," Ana said. "I guess this means we have another resurrection to pull off."

"No," he said. "Leave him for now."

Her eyes flickered between him and the empty space in the corner of the room. "You mean… let him haunt me forever or help him find true peace? Only one of those options is possible and no one will be happy about it."

Kol pressed his lips together and grasped her by the shoulders. He looked down into her tea-brown eyes. "Just for now. Please."

She extracted herself from Kol's hold and he tensed.

"Would you condemn me to this existence forever, Kol? You know what death is like." Finn's expression turned quietly indignant in the corner of her eyes. "You, of all people, must know—"

Ana held her hand up.

"I'm sorry, but I'm the only one who can hear you," she said to Finn before she turned to Kol. "I'd like to know why you don't want me to help him and then I'll decide."

"You'll understand soon enough, darling." Kol said. "Finn, you bloody bore. What's our bloodthirsty, traitorous mother planning? Has she sent you to help her kill us again? Will it be one by one this time or will it be all together once again?"

"That," Finn said, "is not the case. I am not helping her. I have been running from her with Ayana's aid and searching for you to warn you of her plans."

Ana repeated his words. She hated playing mouthpiece but the spells that worked on normal humans in the afterlife didn't work on the supernatural without tweaking. She never had a reason to reverse engineer a revealing spell on a supernatural but it would be easy enough after this.

"And here I thought my family was dysfunctional," she said.

"The depths of our shared misery as a family is indescribable, darling. Our very existence torments one another," Kol said. "Now, big brother. Let us air out our grievances."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Spare me your dramatics."

She didn't bother to repeat that.

"I already died once and I will not do it again," Kol hissed. "If you're plotting with our mother and abiding by her schemes, I'll kill you. I already need to get my revenge against that dull-witted Petrova doppelganger and Niklaus for daggering me all those years. I won't be opposed to adding you onto that list."

"He's already dead," Ana reminded him.

"All the better," Kol muttered. "We can leave him that way."

"I wandered the entirety of the Other Side," Finn said. He reached out until his hand laid upon Kol's shoulder. "Searching for you, little brother. I grew tired of the loneliness ever-present in death. It was much too similar to my mind during those nine hundred years I spent daggered. Until I found myself here by some act of magic."

Ana repeated his words softly and Kol wrenched himself back. A sliver of something like disbelief and longing slipped through his expression. Her eyes flickered between them as the physical and metaphorical distance grew between them.

"If you betray me, I'll kill you. I don't care," Kol warned as he slipped on his jacket. He placed even more distance between him and Finn. "I was the only one who avenged your death. Don't make me regret it, you bloody dull bastard."

"I saw," Finn said. "Thank you."

"He says that he saw and that he's thankful."

Kol narrowed his eyes. "Condoning violence? Now, what have you done to my brother?"

"Death changes perspectives." Finn stepped back, closer towards the kitchen. "But my gratitude has nothing to do with the violence, Kol."

"Ana, darling, I'll be back before dinner. Be careful," he whispered. He brushed her hair over her shoulder and cupped her jaw. His forehead touched hers as he craned his neck down. "Don't make any plans without me."

His dark chocolate brown eyes hardened as he looked at the previous space Finn occupied before he disappeared through the front doors.

Ana turned on her heel to face Finn and observed him after Kol left.

Finn held his place at the centre of her kitchen gingerly. He moved with a caution characteristic of the more mature supernatural creatures she knew, ones that were completely aware of their strength in comparison to the rest of the world. A serenity and natural grace accompanied his movements, his entire person really, and it was the kind that only came from the temperance of age. A river of melancholy, however, waterlogged him like the steady currents flowing down from the mountain tops. It surrounded him like a cloud.

He and Kol could not possibly be any more different than one another.

And, Ana suspected, that's what made them so alike despite being two opposing ends of a spectrum. They were brothers, inextricably similar and linked. An idea brewed in the back of her mind.

He cleared his throat when she said nothing. "Do you know why I'm here? I was taken from my search without notice or warning."

"You're here due to your personal wishes and the will of the gods," she said simply. "You wanted to live and the gods answered by bringing you here. It's as simple as that."

"And what are you?" He pressed.

"Like I said, a priestess. The gods' least favourite one, it seems."

He swallowed, a glimmer of hope lighting his eyes. "Are witches able to control you?"

"That'd require the power to override the will of the world and the divine." Ana guided him towards the drawing room and the sofa. "They're not capable of that."

Relief flooded his face. He relaxed his tense stance and followed behind her closely. "What was the purpose of seizing me away from the Other Side?"

"I'm the only one who can resurrect you," she said and turned on the television. "Without consequences on the natural world or disrupting the balance of it."

Finn looked bewildered at her sudden, unexpected actions and his eyes trailed towards the bright screen of the Smart TV. "What… what are you doing?"

"I hope you enjoy modern entertainment." Ana sent him an apologetic glance.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" he asked ruefully and sat down on the sofa. "I suppose this will be my fate for now."

"Hopefully, it won't be too long," she said. "I'll try to change your situation soon and I'll find something else for you. Kol will come around. Now, do you have any preferences?"

"I do not know enough to have preferences." He shrugged and settled into the sofa. "I will trust your wisdom."

"Before you died…" Ana breached hesitantly, her fingers pausing on the remote. "Were you like Kol?"

A distant, haunted look entered Finn's eyes, something gaunt and awful. "One could liken us to each other in experience."

"I think," she said, contemplating her next move and choices. She cycled through the variety of shows available, watching Finn thoughtfully. "You'll like Derry Girls."

Finn's brows furrowed. "Derry Girls?"

"It's a lighthearted show about some teenage girls set in Ireland during the Troubles. A favourite of mine," she said. "I can pick something else more exciting like an action movie or a darker series."

"No," he said abruptly. "Not at all. I think I would prefer the one you chose."

Their eyes met across the distance she had placed between them. She sent him a minute smile and allowed the show to light up the screen.

"I'll be back," she said. "I need to research something. Hopefully I'll be done before Kol comes back for dinner."

He smiled slightly. "I will not keep you."

Kol stood in the brownstone's foyer warily.

The quiet sounds and rainbow lights of the television filled the empty drawing room where Finn must have resided. He focused harder on the soft sizzle of cooking meat coming from the kitchen, the alluring scent of toasted spices, and the warmth of the heated air. Something about his resurrection made him more aware of the world and its wonders in ways he hadn't noticed before his death. The disappearance of his previously unquenchable thirst for blood had only heightened the experience. If he had known the world was like this, he might've stopped to smell the roses a lot sooner.

"Darling," he called out. "Your dearest knight has returned."

Ana peeked at him from the kitchen, the loose waves of her hair bouncing around her face, and her eyes flickered towards the sofa. Her pink floral apron engulfed her petite frame. "Welcome back. Dinner will be ready soon but I think there's something I should do before it finishes."

"Oh, don't tell me you've been conspiring alone?" Or with Finn, he wanted to add but the ghost of his brother was nearby. The same ghost he didn't want to acknowledge until he had no choice but to. He had created a peaceful illusion of reality here and he wouldn't let anyone break it before it needed to be shattered. "What diabolical plans have you come up with recently?"

"Finn is going to eat dinner with us. I did some research while you were gone," she said and hung up her apron. Ana paused for a moment before she turned to face the couch with a bemused expression. "You're vampires. I'm a priestess that talks to ghosts. Are you really questioning whether or not you'll be able to eat?"

Well, he had no choice but to address Finn now.

"Don't bother arguing, brother," Kol said. "Ana, here, will simply do as she pleases and we'll be subjected to her whims."

"I'm doing my job," Ana said before she held out her hand. "Finn, I'll need your hand for the demonstration."

He crossed his arms. "Darling, was I under the misconception that I was unable to be perceived?"

"No. I just adjusted the spell by reverse-engineering a basic unveiling in every priestess' arsenal. It might not work but it's worth a try," Ana said. "I don't like playing the mouthpiece for ghosts."

"Is Finn getting special treatment?" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"You and Finn clearly have things to chat about that I'm not privy to." Ana's fingers flexed around a phantom hand. "So, I'm fixing that right now."

Her magic pulsated beneath her skin and his skin prickled in response. The air thrummed, thick and humid. It sluiced over him like boiling lava and he shuddered. A shock of peony-pink lines shot forward from her hand and formed a complex magic circle cropping up at the centre of a silhouette. The outline of a large hand engulfed Ana's.

There was a burst of light and he closed his eyes upon instinct, grasping Ana tighter. He slowly opened his eyes once the blinding luminescence died down and he sucked in an unnecessary breath in shock.

Finn stepped forward in all of his glory.

His eldest brother with the classic and handsome Mikaelson features—tallest and broadest of them all. The village girls had giggled over him all the time, even more so than Klaus or Elijah, before he became a recluse after Henrik's death. He was a true viking warrior in frame even if not in heart. No one else could replicate that dull, pensive expression or that slump of his shoulders or that unfitting panther-esque grace.

He cleared his throat. "Brother."

"Kol," he said.

It was undoubtedly Finn's voice. The soothing, smooth cadence and timbre that had once told him stories of great warriors. The voice that belonged to the brother who paid him mind when Nik had stolen all of Elijah's attention even if it was from a distance.

"You bloody fool," Kol said as he let go of Ana and stalked forward. A burning anger eclipsed nearly everything besides that slash of grief he had felt when he heard of Finn's unjust death. He tried to reach out and grasp his brother's shoulders but his hands fell through. "Why did you have to side with our mother and put us all in danger? Death is not what you think it is. You died, Finn! And I mourned you despite the fact you wanted it! I died and it was agony. The stake…"

"I know, little brother," Finn said roughly. He sagged, fingers attempting to dig through Kol's arms but falling through. "I regret it now."

Ana slipped back into the kitchen quietly and shut the door behind her. Kol ducked his head, tears welling up in his eyes. Damn Finn for his return, damn her for her magic, damn himself for being so susceptible to his emotions.

Kol rested his elbows on his knees, nearly bent over and head in his hands. He had not cried in years but he had come close. Finn's words had put a stop to anything as he whispered about their mother's plans and machinations on the Other Side, her plans to return to life thwarted with their disappearances. Their siblings deserved a warning but…

A knock interrupted his thoughts and the doors to the kitchen opened a crack. Ana peeked in before she slid the door aside fully and stepped in. She smoothed down her clothes with a half-smile and Kol's own lips tugged up into an answering grin.

"Dinner's ready," she said.

He stood up and jerked his head towards the kitchen. "Well, Finn, we'll need Ana's help to solve our problems so we might as well assist her in polishing off dinner."

Finn followed them into the kitchen, bemused and quiet. Kol's eyes flickered to the empty island before he turned his head—she had set up the dining table. Steam still billowed off a few dishes and three seats had been pulled out at the end with the placemats set.

The kitchen was overly warm from the oven and central heating melting together. A flush bloomed across Ana's pale cheeks and he almost reached out to touch her face before he remembered Finn's presence with them.

"We're breaking from tradition, are we?" he murmured.

She shrugged. "The island isn't big enough for three people."

It was, but it'd be a rather tight fit. A small piece of him was rather glad that she had chosen the dining room—the island was his and Ana's. He was reluctant to share any of it with anyone else.

Finn sat down at the head of the dining table at Ana's directive and his eyes trawled over the luxurious spread. Kol bit his tongue at the half-resentful, half-wonderment plaguing his face. Nik had wronged him endlessly but Finn had been in that box for nine hundred years—bore or not, he had experienced the least of life and deserved more than what he got.

Ana looked up at him with a demurely pleased expression on her clear features. Her tea-brown eyes were light and near crystalline with her satisfaction. "Well?"

"I'd congratulate you and say well done like I'm surprised," Kol said. An impish smile played at his lips as he cupped her jaw and craned his neck down. "But this is all up in your wheelhouse, isn't it, darling? Par for the course. Saving lives, making miracles. That's your life everyday."

She gently removed his hands from her face and sat down on Finn's side. "Well, I guess that'll count for now."

He reluctantly took the last empty setting, on Finn's left. His older brother's face had shifted into something peculiar, an uncommon look he had never seen him make before. Kol ignored it—Finn was Finn and more judgemental than even Elijah—and picked up his utensils.

"How do you feel?" Ana looked at Finn tapped her fingers against the wood of the dining table. "Nothing strange?"

"No, not at all," Finn murmured. He laid his hand over hers, almost sinking through her skin, and a shiver ran through his broad frame. "Thank you. You'll never understand the depths of my gratitude for your efforts."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Finn, you were never a charmer before. You don't have to start now."

"We know that's not true, Kol," Finn said. "I simply never entertained our family's antics."

"Well, luckily it's us," he said. "It's a good thing the rest of the lot haven't popped up through some twist of fate. Though, it wouldn't affect you if our family dinners took their usual turn and destroyed everything within the mile radius."

Ana's stared bounced between them. "Please remind me that I probably don't want your entire family to dine in a place I own. We should eat before the food gets cold."

The two men acquiesced to her words.

"Well, darling, what's for dinner?"

"Jasmine rice, steamed and pan-seared soup dumplings, tea-roasted duck breast, braised pork belly, roasted vegetables, and pickled vegetables," she listed off and pointed at each dish. "There's extra of everything, especially the pickled vegetables because Kol will eat them all if you let him."

He grinned at the accusation. "Compliments to the chef."

Finn picked up his utensils tentatively. His eyes widened when the fork rested in his palm. "Is it possible for me to eat?"

"My magic works in strange ways," Ana said before she pushed a few of the dishes in front of Finn. "It would take a while to explain the circumstances of it."

Kol reached out with his leg to tap his foot against Ana's and she glanced at him. Her brow furrowed before she frowned at him and he sent her a jaunty smile in return. Finn had taken Ana's suggestions and filled his bowl of rice with each one of the dishes. He followed his brother's lead and began to eat, humming quietly. The warmth of the dishes filled his stomach, glutting his hunger for blood to an extent. It was unusual but he wouldn't complain about the comfort.

"This is delicious," Finn complimented. "I haven't experienced better fare in my life."

Kol rolled his eyes but held his tongue at the slight smile on Ana's face.

"Thank you," Ana said. "I guess it means you'll be eating with us from now on?"

"Of course," Finn said.

Ana smiled, the pinkened apple of her cheeks lifting, and she looked at Kol. "Good."

Kol had followed Ana into the kitchen after dinner, insisting on helping with the clean up instead of conversing with Finn whom he left in the drawing room with episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine playing. Ana mentally made a list of lighthearted shows Finn might enjoy—she thought he enjoyed Derry Girls from the look on his face but he was a much harder read. Kol watched anything she put on, probably out of habit and indulgence despite his protests.

"What are you planning, darling?" he asked as he set down her dry dishes in the cabinets.

"I don't know," she said. "I haven't ever let a mandatory assignment hang. The two of you placed me in a conundrum."

He grinned. "That's the Mikaelson Family effect."

"I guess the gods unintentionally signed me up for it." Ana handed him the last of the washed dishes and flicked on the kettle to a nice eighty celsius. She searched through the mini-stash of tea she brought with her to New York and plucked out the bag of green dragon pearl and jasmine tea. "I'm making myself some tea."

"I can—"

She cut him off with a glare. "You used my bagged tea last time. It was a crime in my mouth."

"I was simply testing you," he said, the mischievous glint bright in his eyes. "I hadn't expected you'd notice right away and I wouldn't do it twice, darling. I'm much more original than that."

"You should talk to your brother," she said and turned to the kettle heating up. "I'm sure there's a lot for you to catch up on."

Kol leaned against the counter. "Make me a cup?"

"I'm making you bagged tea."

"Not quite the punishment you think it is. I'm not a tea snob, darling," he said. "It wouldn't matter at all to me. Tea is tea."

"Those are fighting words and you'll regret them after trying this tea." Ana washed out the small tea set Arnaud provided with hot water and set up a tray to take to the drawing room. "If you're avoiding talking to your brother alone, you can just tell me."

He made a noise in throat. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Yes," she said.

She prepared the tea under Kol's attentive eyes—rinsing the tea leaves before steeping them. He took the tray from the counter and brought it out to the drawing room at her request, long-suffering. Ana followed behind placidly and poured them all cups.

"How are you liking this show, Finn?" she asked as she tucked herself into her corner by Finn.

She handed him a cup of tea and he accepted graciously. Kol had seated himself on the other side, nursing his teacup.

"It's rather juvenile," Finn said. "But not offensively so."

"Well, before anything else happens, we need ground rules," Ana said. "I'm sorry but you can't leave the house while under this spell. You're a supernatural beacon, especially to ghosts, and you might attract trouble. It'll wear off around midnight so feel free to roam after that."

He nodded as he sipped the cup of green tea. "That sounds rather reasonable. I don't have a reason or need to stray far from this area. I'm grateful enough for all of your help as it is."

Kol took a long drag of the tea and sighed. "... alright, darling. You might've had a point about the tea."

"Doctoring a cup of watery swill with enough milk and sugar to hide the taste should have told you something was wrong with it." She turned her attention back to Finn. "How did you like the Derry Girls?"

"It was enjoyable," Finn said. "Delightful and charming."

"Darling, don't tell me you're corrupting my brother," Kol said. "He hasn't experienced enough of the world to tell you the truth. Your tastes are those of a teenage girl."

"I was a teenage girl until recently," she pointed out and rolled her eyes. "I never would've pinpointed you for a media snob, Kol."

"Despite his protests, he does share similarities with our brother Elijah," Finn said. "It's astonishing that the two of them refuse to admit it when it's so evident. "

"Take that back, Finn," Kol said with a glare, affronted.

Finn merely smiled and turned back to Ana. "I'd gladly watch something that you prefer."

"Great. Kol hasn't seen Ted Lasso yet and you can't hate that show," she said. "It's about football and is decidedly not a show catered to teenage girls."

"Hopefully it won't offend your delicate sensibilities, Finn," Kol drawled.

"I'm sure I can survive," Finn said.

The next morning, Kol had disappeared again, but at a much earlier time than normal and without letting her know. He had gone long before she returned from her morning run judging by the lack of footprints on the front steps and the recent flurry of snow. It was strange but it had been an abnormal forty-eight hours and he had his reasons. She highly suspected his natural avoidance of his brother's presence might have been it.

Ana dusted flour off her apron as her newest house guest stepped into the kitchen. She set down her mixing bowl of spiced cookie dough and swirled the pan simmering on the stove. The batch of apples she had peeled and chopped sat in a thick syrup of their own extract and brown sugar, softened and caramelised.

"Kol mentioned that he would return for dinner," Finn said, voice low and serious. His hazel eyes followed her movements throughout the kitchen. "He said nothing about where he was going."

She agitated the pan one last time and killed the flames on the gas top. "I'm guessing he left before I came back?"

"He did," Finn confirmed. "I suppose that would be my fault."

"He's been doing it since I resurrected him," Ana said. "I wouldn't worry too much."

It was a half-lie, a partial comfort. She was sure that Finn already came to his own conclusions about his own little brother's actions but it didn't hurt to soften the blow. Kol had never left so early before, even if he did go gallivanting off everyday, and she had a hunch that it had to do with the entire situation with Finn. But it really wasn't her place to question his location until it caused her problems.

"Has he told you much about our family?" Finn leaned against the island and crossed his arms.

Ana wasn't quite sure how to proceed with their current dilemma; Finn wanted to live, Kol didn't think Finn was safe, and she was the divine emissary in the middle. Her job was tied to resurrecting Finn, and guiding lost souls, but Kol was her friend and he would definitely see her reviving Finn without consulting him as a betrayal.

There was only one solution she could think of.

Some days, this was the least favourite part of her job.

"I'm making apple pie cookies," she said. "Kol told me that someone in your family liked apple pies. He's informed me about your family, bits and pieces of your history, but I'm gathering that he hasn't told me enough."

"You're aware we're vampires?" he asked.

"I do have blood bags in my fridge just for Kol."

"Then, has he told you that we're the original vampires? The first monsters of the world?" Finn looped around to tower over her. "Our parents made us into these… things out of fear and we've terrorised the world ever since."

Ana craned her neck to look up at him. She hated how tall the Mikaelson brothers were and she hoped the other two were more reasonable heights if she ever had to meet them. "The last part is a little dramatic, isn't it?"

He shook his head, expression grim. "You haven't a clue of the sins my siblings committed. The lives they've ruined, the chaos they've caused, the people they've killed…"

She looked away from him and prepared the sheet pan for the cookies. "I'm aware of some of it."

"And you still choose to associate with us?"

"I've met worse people," she said simply. "Those same people have redeemed themselves and continue to make amends to this day. I think Kol wants to change."

"Does he?"

Ana paused and turned to look him in the eyes, once more. "You should tell me more about yourself instead of asking about Kol."

Finn blinked before he went quiet. Helingered at her side as he watched her shape the cookies and spoon out the jammy apple reduction into the well of the cookies. She worked meticulously and tried to think of the words she could say, the sentences she'd formulate. Kol hadn't mentioned Finn often but she had spent the last two days in his company. Her abilities weren't only magical or divine—she had to develop many things to aid her work.

She could piece together parts of the tapestry that made up Finn Mikaelson with what she had seen. He reminded her of Tetsuo. She saw several shades of her favourite moralistic, honest, and thoughtful cousin in him, but Finn was much more tense and grim. World-weary and melancholy from age and possibly being in the same situation as Kol.

She slid the sheet pan of cookies into the refrigerator when she was finished and washed her hands, carefully watching him out of the corner of her eyes. The tea towel passed through her hands slowly.

Well, if he wouldn't take the first step.

"Kol told me a lot more about your family than you'd expect." She draped the tea towel over the faucet. "Especially his problems with them. He didn't mention you often but I'm guessing it has something to do with your situation being similar to Kol's where you were held against your will."

A bitter expression crossed his face. "Niklaus may have wronged Kol many more times but I remained beneath the thrall of that dagger longest. Even he would not understand."

"Dagger?"

"I suppose that's the one thing that Kol hasn't told you," he said. "Few things can hurt an Original vampire. One of them is a special dagger and it places us into a waking coma—it was our brother Nikalus' favourite method of keeping us in check and under his control."

Ana stopped and her eyes turned to him. "Kol said it was a coma but never mentioned that he was aware."

"He was not daggered for nine hundred years."

The harsh words had escaped his mouth without intention.

Oh, how he would detest that all too familiar pity that would be too clear in her gaze, but the girl looked up at him with those doe-like brown eyes, neutral but intent. A furrowed brow marred her elfin features.

"Nine hundred years?" she whispered.

He nodded mutely.

"Okay, we're taking this to the drawing room," she said and took off her apron. She herded him in the direction of the sofa. "This can't go unaddressed. You were daggered for nine hundred years and you clearly want to talk about it."

"What is there to say?" he asked.

"I mean, you can just scream. You don't have to say anything. I might not understand but I'm willing to listen." She sat down and tucked her knees against her chest. Her brown eyes trapped him with her and he found himself unable to do anything but sit down by her side. "No offence to your family, but, from Kol's descriptions, it seems like it's more than any of them were willing to offer and I doubt you managed to tell them any of this."

"I was kept daggered in a box for nine hundred years," Finn said. "Forgotten and unwanted by my own family."

Her calm and unjudging eyes settled on him. "I'm sorry that any of it happened to you."

"None of it was a result of your actions."

"I can still feel sorry that you suffered unjustly," she said. "Did they ever try to give you a reason as to why?"

His lips lifted into a sneer. "Nothing could justify their actions."

"No, nothing could, but hearing a reason could give you peace of mind instead of allowing you to linger on it and agonising over the possibilities. That's all."

"They said it was to save me from myself," he said. The words were astringent and bitter in mouth. They felt like a bucket of sand being fed to him by the spoonful. "I had wanted to die, driven half-insane from nine hundred years in that box. It was a slow dawn, a small light blooming in my vision, until it became a wholly black horizon where I could feel and hear everything. I could feel even the smallest speckle of dust against my skin or a droplet of water. It drove me insane and the only times… the only times I could find a moment of peace were when my siblings slept and I inhabited their dreams. Then, when they had finally released me from that sleep… I was slowly driven further in by my mother's machinations until I was killed. Even in the afterlife, she continued her quest to eliminate our family and who was I but her sword and the arbitrator? Once I said I would not involve myself in her schemes… she pursued me with a vengeance characteristic of Niklaus, intent on buying my loyalty against my siblings. I had told her I wished to live and she would've denied me it. A repeating saga of our lives, it seems."

Ana's brown eyes rested on him attentively, her brows furrowed and her full rosy lips pursed. She leaned forward and hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder. Her hand was a beacon of warmth and light and he found himself shivering under her touch.

"So, no one was willing to save you or give you the benefit of the doubt while they deprived you of everything you needed or wanted," she said softly.

"Thank you for listening to me." He let out a breath. "You're quite perceptive despite how little I've said."

"Perceptive for someone my age?" A smile tilted her lips and her eyes curled ever so slightly.

"No." He shook his head with a rueful smile. "I doubt the lack of age has much to do with the supernatural or you. You must have lived a long life."

"I'm twenty-one as of this year."

He inspected her closely then. The slim curve of her shoulder, the delicate swoop of her neck, the boundless curls of her hair, the elfin features—she did look younger, perhaps closer to Rebekah's age, but he had assumed it was the effect of magic.

"You're sympathising with me so easily. I assume you were the same with Kol," he mused. "Are you not disgusted by the monsters we are? The abominations of nature that we are?"

"Are abominations possible or is that just an invented belief?"

His eyes met hers in surprise and his brow furrowed. She looked at him expectantly but he wasn't quite sure of what he wanted to say or what he could say.

"I don't think there's such a thing as abominations of nature. The things that are possible in this world and the things that exist without question, is that not just nature?" She considered him, her expression shifting into something thoughtful. "The world continues on despite the existence of vampires, and, in any case, I disregard what people are. The 'who' matters the most. We're an amalgamation of our thoughts and actions. I told Kol this once—no one is predestined for good or evil, no matter who they are. There is no such thing as destiny. The choices we make everyday are ours. Everyone has great potential for either as long as free will exists."

His own eyes drifted down into his lap and he fell deep into thought. When he had died and escaped his mother's clutches, he had found himself watching his siblings in a way similar to his dreams during his daggered stages. They had all lived so shamelessly, recklessly—even Elijah in his quest to redeem Niklaus had fallen into a spiral. It was a cycle of centuries that they lived through. If he returned to life, could he ever escape the name of Mikaelson or his family? He could, physically, but in his heart of hearts… he knew the answer. There was a chance that his choice to live could entrap him in the same wheel as them regardless of his intentions.

"I'll tell you a secret, Finn. I've met many humans and supernatural beings alike. I've yet to meet anyone supernatural that has committed anything on the scale of atrocities that humans have and the bad they've committed are borne from their humanity. I think you haven't heard enough about the events that occurred in history that proves our cruelty and kindness have no bounds," she continued on. "Kol did mention you once. Finn—his principled, honourable, and boring brother who died too soon because of your family. He said you were stubborn as a mule and immovable as a mountain. I don't think he would've described just anyone like that. You're probably better than a good percentage of humanity that's dead or alive."

"You're quite convincing," he finally said. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and he swallowed. "Should you resurrect me… will you be able to make me human?"

Her eyes turned slightly sad and she shook her head. "You might be able to reverse your vampirism later but I wouldn't be able to do it while bringing you back to life."

"Even hopes betray you in the long run," he said regretfully.

"You know, vampires no longer have to kill people to get blood or take advantage of unsuspecting humans." Ana rested her head against the sofa. "If that's your problem with it."

"It is, but I detest how we must exploit others to survive. Our very existence is a blight against humans and as much as I wish to live, I do not wish to harm others to do it."

She blinked. "You will not like capitalism, then, but… I mean, you're not really hurting anyone."

"Are we not?" he asked sardonically. "Our consumption of blood, in the end, will always harm humans."

"No, you're not. Blood banks are places where blood is willingly given and no one is coerced," she said. "It's similar enough to a farmer cultivating crops to feed people."

"But…" Finn trailed off, unsure of his next words. They were a foolish sentiment but one that remained in his heart all the same. One that he should've disabused himself of a long time ago but he hadn't. The voices of his mother and father rang in his ears, their condemnation so loud that it enveloped everything else.

"It still feels wrong," she guessed. "You haven't had time to reconcile with it."

His lips twitched. "No. I have not."

"Well, you're a vampire. After you're resurrected, you'll have all the time in the world."

"That's as long as I remain undaggered should Niklaus hear of my untimely return to the living. I suspect he will hunt me down once my mother inevitably returns as well since he'll condemn me along with her."

"You're worrying a lot about things you're not sure will happen," Ana said. "Let's bake those apple pie cookies. They've firmed up enough by now."

She stood up and smoothed out her clothes before heading into the kitchen. The oven lights flickered on and she took out the tray of apple pie cookies before tossing them into the preheated oven to bake.

"If I should return to the plane of the living and see my siblings again, they will expect me to forgive them," he said when she faced him. "And they will want me to apologise for attempting to kill them and conspiring against them with our mother."

"It's clear how you feel about the latter. So, I'll ask, do you want to forgive them?"

Finn scoffed. "They abandoned me for nine hundred years. Entombed physically and mentally. How could I possibly forgive them for that?"

"That's not what I asked. I didn't say you had to forgive them. I'm asking if you want to."

"I'm unsure," he said. "I've never truly thought about it. The idea of forgiveness in relation to such an act has always… blinded me with rage, I suppose."

"I don't blame you. There is one person you should forgive though." She leaned against the counter and looked him in the eye. "Yourself."

"Myself?" he asked.

"I think you've forgotten that you're a victim in all of this. Everyone has wronged you in some ways but you're blaming yourself for things outside of your control. If you want any chance at happiness, you should learn to forgive and rebuild the relationship you have with yourself."

He paused. "I have never thought about that."

"People rarely do," she said. "But when you're a divine emissary for long enough, you learn."

He rested on the counter beside her and tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling. "Will you tell me more of what you think?"

It was a strange thing—to wish to hear the thoughts of another person on the occurrences of his life but he had yet to meet anyone quite like Ana. His family had their own motives and so did their enemies; their biases against him would poison their thoughts. It'd be drenched in some form of manipulation. She existed somewhere outside of it all despite being… Kol's friend, he supposed.

"You never should've stopped living. You chose to entrench yourself in a cycle of misery and prevented yourself from moving onward. But you have options in this modern age. Drain your siblings dry of their resources and build your own life outside of them. Study the new world, open a homeless shelter, build a school for underprivileged children—you can easily take advantage of their wealth to make the world a better place if you feel so guilty about being a vampire. Your life doesn't have to revolve around your family. Leave them to their drama after you shake them for all they're worth."

He laughed, then, deep and throaty, and he looked down at her serious expression, the edges of it slightly cracking with a smile on her lips. Finn found himself smiling back.

"Well, Ana, priestess and professional meddler," he said. "Thank you for your wisdom. I quite enjoyed hearing that and I will consider it."

"It reminded you a bit of Derry Girls, didn't it?"

"Quite so."

"I meant it, though."

"Regardless of any of that, they will disapprove and attempt to obstruct me at every turn in their own ways," he said. "Accuse me of abandoning them like they have not done the same to me for those nine hundred years. I'm not even included in their vows of always and forever but they will hold me to them nonetheless."

"Pardon my language, but just tell them to fuck off," Ana said bluntly. "People can be blind to the unseen consequences of their actions but that doesn't mean they shouldn't face any of them. You leaving them to their own devices is the least harmful thing you could do."

A buzzer interrupted them and the lights from the oven flashed. Ana paused before tugging on oven mitts and pulling out the metal tray of apple pie cookies. Hot steam roiled off of the little morsels, glistening with melted sugar and the glossy apple mixture. She flicked on the kettle before she placed the cookies on a rack.

"I'll make some tea to accompany it," she offered.

He nodded. "I enjoyed the tea last night. It was quite soothing."

"As I was saying, full offence intended, but from what you and Kol have told me, your family isn't made up of the most emotionally stable, mature, or empathetic people. They might lack the immediate compassion to understand or ask, blinded by their egos." Ana pulled out the tea set and began to prepare the beverages meant to compliment the sweets she made. "And people tend to hurt their families the most. We're conditioned to think they know our flaws and accept us at the end of the day despite what we've done. It'll always blindside people when the latter doesn't happen even when we know better. It's the hope that kills you."

He hummed and watched her work, his thoughts slowly melting together like molasses. She did everything meticulously and she reminded him of Elijah in that moment. It was a flaw of his, one borne from observing his siblings from a distance for so long. He attributed something from all of them to anyone he saw and he hated himself for it.

Ana placed down the tea tray on the counter between them and held out her hand. "Well?"

He placed his hand in hers before a jolt of magic passed through him like lightning. She waited for him to adjust before she handed him a plate with a cookie and a teacup. Some of his siblings would've had thrown a fit in the early days of pretending to be nobles if they saw him now.

"It's a Wuyi red tea," Ana said. "It pairs well with anything sugary."

"I will not pretend to have any expertise in such matters. I will simply trust your good will and wisdom." Finn sipped the tea. He bit into the apple pie cookies and his eyes widened.

"Thoughts?" she asked, leaning back on her elbows.

"These are delicious," he complimented. "I'm quite glad that Kol did divulge the information about me though his penchant for gossip has troubled many of us to some degree."

"Everyone gossips, Finn."

He raised a brow. "Even you?"

"That's the only way you can ever get information from supernatural beings without torture," she said dryly. "Activating their need to be sensational and messy."

"If I should return to life and I must confront my family, what should I say?"

"Just be honest with them. Tell them they're absolute pricks, take their money, and leave until they get better," she said. "You have nothing to discuss unless they want to apologise sincerely. If they didn't want to feel ashamed or for you to talk about it, they wouldn't have done it."

He let out a low laugh before he let the quiet of the late morning wash over him. His thoughts descended into a place they had never fallen before as Ana plated up a few more cookies for him and set them in the drawing room with the television on. She had saved a few for Kol, should he return, but Finn highly doubted it—Kol must've absconded from the city by now, friend or not. His little brother, the smartest of them all, most likely had left out of self-preservation with his appearance.

Ana peeked into the drawing room. "I'm going to prepare lunch and dinner while working on some things in the dining room if you need me. You'll be fine here?"

"It's much better than the box my brother had dragged me around in."

"Well, I'd hope so," she said. "It can fit more than one person at a time."

His lips tugged up into a half-smile and her answering one was bright, almost blinding.

if you guessed that it would be finn, congratulations! it was going to be him the entire time. thank you for all of the comments even during the quiet period. it was so motivating and touching to receive them while i was writing this behemoth of a chapter while swamped at school and work. i've picked up 12hr shifts on the weekends to make sure i stay full time and still receive benefits through work.

i also am currently aghast at how long this already is when this was literally only supposed to be PWP, absolutely head empty no thoughts... i feel like i conned myself?

(i lowkey kind of hate how this chapter turned out but i thought it did a great job of illustrating ana's many faces!)

anyway, if you're a frequent re-reader, i'd recommend going back because i did some editing for the previous chapters. nothing too major, just clean ups and added further descriptions.

if you're an astrology nerd, i gave my friend a profile of anastasia and she chose a birthday specifically to construct the "perfect natal chart" for our little menace. she was born on june 12, 1998 in taipei, taiwan at exactly noon. that, apparently, means she's a gemini sun/mercury/mars, capricorn moon, virgo rising, and taurus venus. i have no idea what any of that means but she assures me that it's perfect and i would trust her with my life.

songs i was listening to:
devil by clc
like whoa by aly & aj
talk that talk by twice
first love by after school
national anthem by lana del rey