I was woken by a loud knocking on the bedroom door. I blinked, disorientated. The light was dim, the curtains closed tight and made of a thick material that blocked the light, leaving only a few stray rays that managed to peek around it. I half sat up and saw Tristan asleep beside me. He stirred and his eyes half opened. A smile formed on his lips as he looked up at me.

"Good morning…" He went to close his eyes and go back to sleep when the knocking registered. He frowned and sat up. I gathered the sheets around me, covering myself as he got out of the bed and went to the door. He opened it and over his shoulder I saw red hair.

"Tristan! I was wondering if we could go for a walk! It's going to rain!"

"Umm… Aurora could this wait a little? I was sleeping."

"Sleeping? But you don't sleep this late."

"It's still early my love. I will join you in a while, I promise." He leant against the doorframe in a way that prevented Aurora from seeing very much of the room. I sank down in the bed, hoping that the limited light would help to conceal me.

"Promise?"

"I promise." He kissed her cheek and then stepped back, closing the door. He stood there for a moment, head cocked as though he was listening to something I couldn't hear. I waited quietly until I saw his body relax and he came back over to the bed.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes."

"You talk in your sleep. Were you dreaming?"

"Yeah… I have nightmares most nights. Since Lucien took me."

"Were you have a nightmare last night?" I tried to remember but all that came to mind were a haze of unfamiliar images.

"I'm not sure…"

He climbed back onto the bed, offered his hand to me. I smiled slightly and took it. He grinned and pulled me against him.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"A little better. Still a bit guilty but I guess that's inevitable." He kissed my forehead.

"Don't worry, we'll get you home soon, I promise."

"You're going to help me?"

"Of course I am."

"You're a good person Tristan." He chuckled softly.

"I'm really not."

"Well I think you are."

"Thank you. There are many people who would disagree with you but I appreciate it." He stretched. "What are you plans for the day?"

"I thought I might go for a walk, take the girls. Take advantage of my freedom before Lucien comes back and puts me under house arrest again." I was also hoping to see Ansel again, if he was still around. I knew Lilah would like that. Maybe we could even take some meat. I didn't know if he needed to eat in his weird half ghost state but I thought it would be a nice gesture. "You?"

"Well I have to spend some time with my sister and assure her that she is still my one and only love. But before that, I need to speak with my witches."

"I'll leave you to it." I got up. "Did my clothes survive the night?"

"I'm not sure." He sat up. "Take one of my shirts. That'll keep you decent until you get back to your room."

"Thanks." I grabbed a shirt and slipped it on. "See you later."

"Oh most definitely."

I left the room and went to mine to get changed before heading to the girls. They were awake, Lilah was reading and Blair was playing with her toy fox. They smiled happily when they saw me. I could see that this time had been good for them. Lilah was already putting on weight and looked less gaunt. Even Blair, who'd never suffered Lucien's assaults, seemed happier.

"Would you two like to go for a walk with me?" I asked. They nodded excitedly and scrambled to their feet. Lilah held up her toy wolf and looked at me questioningly. I smiled. "Maybe. If we're lucky."

I helped them get dressed and we went downstairs. I slipped into the kitchen and fetched some assorted bits of meat from the fridge, shoving them into a bag before re-joining my children. We headed out to the garden and began to walk slowly, keeping to the borders where the grass faded into the trees.

We reached a point where the trees grew thicker and Lilah stopped abruptly. I smiled slightly and knelt got some meat from the bag, distributing it between the two of them. Lilah knelt down automatically and held out her hand. Blair seemed less certain.

"Blair, sweetie, just stay still and quiet. We might get to meet someone special." I told her. She nodded nervously and copied her sister. Slowly, a furry nose protruded from the bushes followed by Ansel's head. I smiled and watched as he stepped forward, licking Lilah's cheek affectionately. He turned to me. I knelt down and rested my forehead against his. He whined happily and wagged his tail.

"I'm working on getting us home," I murmured softly. "I promise. It won't be much longer."

He pulled back and went to eat the meat that the girls offered him. I sat back. Something dug into my leg from within my pocket and I frowned slightly, slipping my hand inside. I found the Mikaelson necklace tucked away. I turned it over in my hand and an idea came to mind.

"Ansel?" I asked softly. He looked over at me. "I want you to take this."

He came over and bowed his head. I carefully fastened the necklace around his throat. I wasn't sure why. Maybe he'd be able to get it back to them and show that I was still alive. Maybe it would just be a reminder of our connection.

He wagged his tail before stiffening abruptly and darting back into the trees. I got up and looked around to see Aurora approaching us. I put the remaining meat back in the bag and wiped my hands on my jeans.

"Hello Elena," she said. "Hello little ones! What are you doing out here?"

"We were just having a walk Aurora."

"With a bag of meat?"

"Well… Lilah heard a wolf the other night so we thought we'd try to lure it out. She had a crazy idea of keeping it as a pet." I silently prayed that Blair wouldn't say anything and uncover my lie.

"Oh you like animals? You should come and see my pets!"

"No, we're fine…"

"Oh I insist!" She smile brightly and took Blair's hand. I frowned and reluctantly followed her as she headed to a small out building. She opened the door and I was hit with the smell of sawdust. I looked around to see a number of cages stacked around the room, some large and some small. Aurora released Blair's hand and the girls scampered off a little way to investigate. Aurora leant against a wall and carefully unlocked one of the cages. Inside were a number of large rats, squirming and squeaking loudly. I grimaced and looked away.

"You don't like rats Elena?" Aurora asked, picking up a small brown rat from the group and holding it carefully.

"They're not my favourite creature, no."

"I quite like them." She turned the animal over in her hand. "You know, my brother and I are very close."

"I had noticed that."

"For a long time, we only had each other. We can only rely on one another. I love him and he loves me, more than anyone else. And that is the way it will remain. If anyone were to come between us… well, I would be very upset." She tightened her grip on the rat and it began to squeal in distress. She locked eyes with me. "I would hate for you to make me upset Elena. Because then I'd be forced to hurt you."

She held up the rat in one hand. It squirmed wildly, trying to snap at her fingers. She very carefully and pointedly placed her nail on its furry belly before slowly driving it into its soft flesh. I resisted the urge to gag and tried to keep my face passive as she impaled the rat on her finger.

"Do we have an understanding Elena?"

"We do. You don't have to worry about me, I'm getting out of here as soon as I can."

"Excellent," she smiled brightly and tossed the rat into another cage where it was immediately pounced upon by a large menacing snake. I felt sick in my stomach. I knew that Lucien and Tristan had said she was jealous. I hadn't realized quite how much. "Back to your kingdom?"

I made a non-committal noise in response and looked over to the girls. Lilah had wandered over during the course of our conversation and was staring at Aurora, her face set in a fierce scowl. Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong little one?" she asked. Lilah pointed at the half eaten rat in the cage and then at Aurora. She glared and for a second her pupils seemed to contract, her eyes taking on a faint gold hue. She shook her head slowly in a way that seemed to say to Aurora 'you did a very bad thing'. Then she turned and left the building with Blair following behind her. Aurora seemed momentarily taken aback by her behaviour but she quickly replaced her mask of composure.

"You should teach her to be better behaved. Misbehaving children are likely to get hurt."

"If you touch my children, you will meet a very swift and painful end." The words come out instinctively and although I knew they would only enrage her, I didn't care.

"Are you trying to threaten me Elena?"

"No of course not Aurora. I'm not trying to do anything. I am tell you. That if you lay one finger on my children. If you even make them scared. I will hunt you to the ends of the earth, find you and destroy you with no more difficulty or thought than how you killed that rat."

She regarded me silently. I turned away and left the building. The girls were waiting outside. Lilah's eyes had returned to normal. It had started to rain, not heavily but enough that our clothes would quickly be soaked. I lifted my girls into my arms and strode towards the main house.

Fuck Aurora. I had meant every word. If she tried anything, I would shove a stake in her heart before she could draw breath. I hoped it wouldn't come to that. I had Tristan on my side. He was going to help me get home. I had intended not to trust him quite as much as I did. I knew that I was on a slippery slope and there was a high likelihood that I would tumble down into the abyss and if he turned out to be traitorous, I'd have no chance to free myself. But it was hard. He was nice to me, something that was getting rarer and rarer. And he reminded me so much of Elijah, it was hard not to let my feelings for the Mikaelson brother cloud my feelings and my judgement when it came to Tristan.

I took the girls inside and changed them into dry clothes. The guilt in my stomach had disappeared. I was doing the right thing. I was doing what I had to do, to be strong, to protect my girls and get them home.

A/N: I'm sorry it's not longer but I'm having a really rough weekend and I know that my emotions will end up impacting on the characters if I'm not careful. I wanted to write something though because I figured it's better to hurt fictional characters rather than myself. Sorry if the chapter is no good.