In the end, killing their mother was almost easy. Finn was vervained and locked up in the basement. Esther had not even suspected that they knew of her plan. Her arrogance was her undoing.
Elijah had force fed his mother blood they had gotten from Caroline. They didn't want her to be sired directly to one of them. Age obviously played a part in a vampire's strength, but so did the blood that turned them. Elijah then broke her neck. When Esther awoke, as predicted, she refused to transition. She failed to realise that she actually had no choice.
It was Rebekah that 'helped' her transition. To be on the save side Elijah, Klaus, Rebekah and Kol all compelled the new vampire using the same compulsion. If one of them were killed then the compulsion would hold. Elijah had learned from the entombed Katerina incident.
Esther was to forget that she was ever a witch. She was to forget that she had ever had children. She was to remain as their 'housekeeper' at Elijah's property in England. They had wanted to keep her close, but she had already been introduced to the town as their mother, so that would not work. She was to trust them, always, and never plot against them in any way. If someone brought up the fact that she was their mother she was to forget the question was ever asked. She was also compelled to tell one of them if anyone ever tried to 'rescue' her. She was on a plane that night, as they had made the decision to not give her a daylight ring. Maybe they would reconsider in a century or 2.
Finn was a tougher nut to crack. Luckily Klaus had a plan. Trying to track down Sage took longer than expected and Finn had to be kept locked up at all times. They did not enjoy starving their brother, but they also didn't want him messing up their plans.
The reunion between Finn and Sage would bring a tear to many an eye. Esther had told Finn that Sage was dead. This lie also cemented Esther's fate with Finn. When they finally told him what they had done, he agreed that under the circumstances the choice taken was for the best.
Finn and Sage did not stay. He was still bitter about being daggered for 900 years and none of his siblings could blame him. They found him a bore and a killjoy, but leaving him daggered that long was something they all did regret. The reunited lovers left as soon as possible for Europe. They did promise to stay in contact, just in case of trouble, but were planning to live their own life as far away from the rest of the Originals as possible.
The night his mother left the country he found comfort, he did not even know he needed, in Elena's arms. She was more than happy to provide him with a place to relax and grieve. He did not see her at all for the next 2 weeks, but they did stay in touch.
Over those 2 weeks, waiting for Sage, he stayed at the manor. He did not want to leave his younger siblings alone with their eldest sibling too long. The 2 weeks were actually good for the Mikaelson family. They spent a lot of time together. They fought and cried. They sparred and watched movies. They all sat for a family portrait painted by Klaus, Finn was added in just before leaving. They drank a lot and cooked dinner together. They healed old wounds and started new arguments. They laughed and joked and teased. At the end they were closer than they had been in centuries. They were also happier than in centuries. Time would tell how long the peace would last.
Elena was tired. The last 2 weeks had been exhausting. The Salvatore's were upset. She assumed that they were upset she had made her own decisions and saved the Originals without consulting them first. They also didn't believe the fact that they would have died too until Bonnie confirmed it. Apparently nothing she said could be trusted at all, according to them. She had also decided to take the time that Elijah was occupied to speak to them both about the fact that there would never be anything between her and them again.
She did not want to get between them, she was not Katherine. She was also not happy at all with the fact that that they ruled her life as they saw fit. But most of all there was Elijah.
They did not take it well, at all. The Salvatore's thought she was compelled. They knocked her out and when she woke up Bonnie did a spell. A spell to remove any and all compulsion. It was painful. She thought she was going to die. Even when she was screaming in pain, neither the brothers nor Bonnie let up. They were doing this for her own good after all.
She did remember compulsions, Damon's compulsions. The only time that Elijah had ever compelled her was the first day they had met.
When the spell finished it took her half an hour to just catch her breath and try not to throw up from pain. She had never been as angry.
"I want you to leave…and don't come back", her voice was low and cracked from screaming, but her eyes were firmly fixed on the Salvatore's.
"Oh, come on Elena, you know this was what was best! You have been compelled, if you weren't it never would have hurt at all!" Damon said while rolling his eyes.
Stefan was quiet, but throwing her the puppy dog eyes. It wouldn't work. Not ever again. They had shown her exactly what they thought of her and how they would always treat her.
"I am sure I didn't stutter Damon. I want you to leave and not to come back." she locked eyes with him "I don't want either you or Stefan in my life. The only compulsion I remembered is yours. This will be the last time that you make decisions about MY life FOR me. We are done."
They tried to argue, they tried to make her 'see sense', but she ignored them. Her head was killing her. She got some aspirin from the kitchen swallowing the pills with some vervain laced water. She did not trust the Salvatore's. She could still hear them in the living room. She decided to ignore them. Bonnie was still seated on the couch. She had a very uncomfortable, regretful look on her face. Elena did not care. This was the last time. She was too tired for this shit.
"Bonnie, I want you to leave too." Elena sighed
She almost laughed at the look on Bonnie's face. Almost.
"Elena…I" she did not let Bonnie finish.
"I need some time. I can understand that you thought you were helping me. That Damon and Stefan convinced you I was compelled. Even when I said I wasn't. I know that a person doesn't always know when they are compelled. Had you just sat down with me as my friend and spoken to me, you would have realised I wasn't compelled. Had you spoken to me I might have revealed to you why I know I was not compelled. Instead you willingly let them knock me out."
"Elena, we were just doing it for your own good! You were obviously compelled! As your friend I had to help you!" Bonnie said with a stubborn look on her face. Elena knew the look well.
She tilted her head, peering at her friend. It was amazing that she could be so hypocritical. She looked at Bonnie and then at the brothers. Shaking her head she fixed her gaze on Bonnie.
"Yes, compelled by Damon, not Elijah. What do you mean for my own good? You guys keep on doing this. What gives you the right to make decisions on how I live my life? Would a real friend disregard my choices or opinions?"
"You are a martyr Elena. We had to keep you from running to Klaus willingly! We don't make choices for you, we just want to protect you." Bonnie said stubbornly.
"You know what, I have a couple of questions." Elena said as she sat down.
"Had it been you, that was born the doppelgänger, what would you have done when Elijah came for you?" she asked with curiosity.
"I would not have made a deal with him! I would have fought! We could have fought Klaus harder!" Bonnie was not backing down.
"I see." Elena said thoughtfully "So I am curious, how would we have fought Klaus harder? He beat us all and can't be killed. And one of the only reasons you were able to beat him during the ritual was because of the dead witches. Which you wouldn't have known about if not for Elijah. Would you have had me run away, so he could chase me down? Would you have had me become a vampire like Katherine so I could also run away from him for 500 years? Maybe I should have been more confrontational? So he could have killed even more people that we knew?"
If she wasn't so pissed off, she would have laughed at the looks on their faces.
"Or maybe, if you had respected my decisions…Elijah would not have been daggered, so Katherine would not have left the tomb. I would have been able to drink the elixir that Elijah had and John would not have had to die for me? Maybe I or Elijah could have even tried to convince Klaus to use Katherine as the vampire sacrifice instead of Jenna. So as I see it, maybe if you had respected my choices I would currently have more family left than just Jeremy." Elena arched a brow "What do you guys think? Let's also not forget that we could have had a lot more time to plan if you guys weren't undermining my deal with Elijah at every turn and trying to get him out of the way. It's seems to me like you guys decide what you think is best and to hell with the consequences or who you hurt in the process. What I would like to know is who made you God? Why is what you decide or believe the only correct thing? And most of all, what gives you the right?" her head was pounding.
They couldn't look her in the eyes. Bonnie had tears in her eyes. Damon still looked stubborn. No one said anything. She gave up. "Please just go. I have a pounding headache and would like to take a nap, and I don't feel comfortable with you in my home."
Damon stormed of in a huff. Stefan could still not look her in the eye. Bonnie looked like she wanted to protest, but Stefan led her out.
The rest of the 2 weeks flew by. She had a lot of school work to make up. Caroline did try and get her and Bonnie together. Elena refused. The second time they had the same conversation, she snapped.
"Come on Lena, you can't stay mad at her. She just did what she thought was right." Caroline was almost begging.
"I don't want to speak to Bonnie, Caroline. I am still upset." Elena shook her head.
"Lena, she was just looking out for her friend. You have to see her. She is one of your best friends. You don't want to lose her." Caroline would not let up.
"Caroline, I said no. I don't want to see her. I don't agree with her right and wrong. I don't like the fact that all my friends, including her, make decisions for my life. If I don't want to see her, I don't want to. And trying to emotionally blackmail me isn't going to work." Elena was now pissed off. Apparently the word NO was not a word any of her friends knew. Caroline look chastised. She left not long after.
Elena decided to look into graduating early. She needed a break. Some time away from Mystic Falls would do her good. She would have to speak to Elijah, maybe he had property in Greece, Greece sounded awesome.