We reached the gate of the Mikaelson house and Rebekah opened it. She glanced at me and gave me a comforting smile, then entered the courtyard. After a moment's hesitation, I followed her. The siblings were sitting in the courtyard, with the exception of Klaus. I could see the differences in them immediately. Now that they weren't putting on a show for an audience like they had been at the masked ball, the true damage was showing through.
Freya was hunched over in one corner, a small table set up in front of her bearing a map and a number of assorted ingredients. Her eyes were closed and I could see her lips twitched as she murmured to herself. Finn was near her, her constant shadow. His expression was strained with worry. Elijah was pacing along the upstairs balcony, pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to relieve tension. Whether the movement was out of worry or frustration I couldn't tell. Only Kol seemed calm, sitting on the bottom step with a serene look on his face. However, as I looked closer I could see that it was closer to defeat than actual peace. Had I caused that?
Kols eyes lifted and met mine. He blinked, as if unable to really believe I was there, before getting to his feet. He moved silently to me, almost trance-like, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight to his chest. He rested his cheek against my hair.
"Elena."
The word was a whisper but it seemed to echo around the room. I saw Elijah freeze mid step and Finn raised his head. I wriggled free of Kol's grasp, somewhat reluctantly, and stepped forward.
"Hey… we're home…" I said softly.
Within a second, I was swept into the arms of my family. I pressed my face against Elijah's chest and held onto Finn's arm, wanting to be as close to them as possible. The girls had released my hands and retreated a little, holding onto one another. I gave the boys each a kiss on the cheek, then pulled away and went over to the girls.
"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid, I promise."
I took their hands and led them forward. Kol stared at the girls, a wide grin spreading over his face. The others were smiling too and I could see Elijah was itching to pick Lilah up.
"Blair, this is your daddy," I told her, pointing at Kol. "And Lilah, that's yours."
Lilah released my hand and stepped towards Elijah. He knelt down so he was level with her. She reached up and touched his cheek, a small smile appearing on her face. Blair, encouraged by her sister's example, moved to Kol and, after staring at him for a moment, hugged him. He picked her up, cradling her close, and I thought I saw tears in his eyes.
I didn't want to disturb their reunion, and I noticed Freya was still in her sitting position, eyes closed. I went over to her, deciding it was best to give some space to Kol and Elijah while they reconnected with their children. I was also afraid if I stayed near Finn and Rebekah, they would start asking about what had happened to me and that was a conversation I wanted to avoid for as long as possible.
"Freya…?"
She continued muttering, rocking slightly. I frowned.
"She's been like that for days. She spends most of her time like that, trying to do a locator spell to find you," said Finn, having approached me while I was distracted. My frown grew. I crouched down and placed a hand on Freya's shoulder.
"Freya. Freya, I'm here. You don't have to keep looking for me!"
She blinked, her eyes opening and focusing on me.
"E…elena?"
"Yes. I'm here. You can stop looking."
She threw her arms around me, tears starting to stream down her cheeks from a mixture of relief and exhaustion. Her body went limp against me. Finn came over and carefully lifted her up.
"Is she okay?"
"She's just worn out. She needs to rest."
He carried her off to her room. I glanced over at Elijah and Kol who were still happily involved with the twins and decided to go and find Klaus. I figured he'd be upstairs.
I went up to his room, knocked lightly and let myself in. The room was dark, empty bottles dotted on various surfaces. Half-finished paintings were propped against the wall. What I could see in the limited light seemed violent and angry, splashes of paint on the canvas.
"Go away…" came Klaus' voice from the bed. "I mean it Elijah, I'm not in the mood for a lecture."
"Klaus?"
He half sat up. I couldn't see him very well, just the shape of him. I tried to move in his direction, colliding with something in the darkness.
"Ow!"
I felt a hand on my waist suddenly and looked up to see Klaus' face, still obscured by the darkness.
"Is it you? Is it really you?"
His hands moved over my body, as if trying to identify me by touch.
"It's me Klaus. I'm back." I touched his cheek. I could smell blood. "What happened to you?"
"You were gone…"
"I know. But it's never going to happen again, I promise. I'm home. The girls are home."
I felt him stiffen under my hands.
"My daughter…"
"Yes. She's here." I smiled. "You can go and see her…"
Once again, the smell of blood hit my nose. I pulled back and went to the window, narrowly avoiding another collision. I pulled open the curtains and looked back at Klaus, who was still stood there watching me. His clothes were bloodstained and there were a few similar stains on his mouth and chin.
"Umm… maybe you should clean up first. You don't want to scare her."
He looked down at himself, as if realising the state he was in for the first time. He nodded slowly and headed to the bathroom. He seemed almost dazed. I guessed that he was just struggling to comprehend this sudden change, much as how I was.
I perched on the bed, looking around the now visible room. It was a wreck. Klaus had clearly not been in a good mood. Furniture had been smashed, there was paint and blood everywhere. I bit my lip, my eyes landing on a broken mirror.
"Shh Elena! If you stop crying, this will be a lot easier!"
I tried. I did. But as he forced another shard into the skin of my waist, fresh tears flowed from my eyes and I squirmed in pain. He sighed.
"Elena, I told you. You need to be still!"
I shook my head, trying to divert myself back to the present. The smell in the room was building and I had to get out of there.
"Klaus I'll be downstairs!" I called to him, figuring he'd be able to hear me with his vampire hearing. I hurried out of the room and back downstairs. Finn was back and was sitting nearby. Rebekah was talking with Blair, who was perched on Kol's knee, babbling happily as was her way. Lilah was sitting on the floor by Elijah's feet, her head resting against his leg. I was surprised by their instant affection. I would have thought they'd be more wary, but then I recalled Lilah's instant attachment to Tristan. They could probably sense the family bond, somehow. I went and sat next to him, idly playing with her hair.
"Does… does she talk?" Elijah asked me softly.
"No. I've only heard her speak once… and that was when she was with the werewolves….I think it's a psychological thing. Lucien… the kidnapping messed her up."
"It messed us all up Elena," said Elijah, touching my hand. I squeezed gently, wondering just how much had changed since I'd been gone.
"I saw Klaus' room…"
"Yes… he's been… difficult since your absence."
"I take it you didn't tell him about seeing me again."
"No. I didn't tell anyone. I knew he'd insist on attacking Lucien, which was what I wanted to do, but I was trying to abide by your wishes…" His voice had grown more hushed and I sensed that he was still trying to hide his earlier interaction with me, out of fear of what the others would do.
Klaus appeared beside us, now cleaned up. I smiled. Lilah's eyes widened and she got up, running over to him. He seemed taken aback but crouched down. She placed one hand on his chest, one on his cheek and I could have sworn she sniffed him lightly. She let out a small animal like yelp and a smile lit up her face.
"Who's that man?" asked Blair, cuddling into Kol's arms.
"That's your scary uncle Klaus," Kol told her. "Don't make him mad, or he'll turn into a wolf!"
"Kol, you'll scare her," Finn warned.
"Wolves aren't scary. They're our friends," Blair said. "Mama can make them sing for her."
I smiled slightly, my eyes still fixed on the silent interaction between Klaus and his daughter. She was carefully tracing the shape of his face as he stared at her as though he had never seen anything so beautiful.
He picked Lilah up and came to sit with us. Everything felt warm and just… right. My family was back together, we were all where we were meant to be for once.
"How did you get back here?" Finn asked. "I know you came in with Rebekah, but how did you escape from Lucien?"
"I'm particularly interested in that. I'm dying to kill that son of a bitch," Klaus said.
"Klaus, language. Children present," Finn reprimanded.
"Well… it's kind of a long story. But… cliff notes version is, Lucien wanted to recreate the spell that got me pregnant. Couldn't find out how. He went to Tristan for help…"
"Tristan?" Finn asked, confused.
"Wait… Tristan De Martel?" Klaus asked. "They hate one another…. But that explains why Aurora's been sniffing around."
"Yeah. So he begged Tristan for help, Tristan agreed, tricked him into bringing me here and then double crossed him."
Everyone sat in silence, unsure of what to say. I shifted nervously in my seat, worried that this line of questioning would lead onto the ones I didn't want to answer.
"I guess we owe Tristan an apology," Elijah said. "Although I still dislike him."
"You sired him." I pointed out.
"Yes but not out of sentiment. It was the best way to create a distraction for Mikael. I turned Tristan and compelled him, Aurora and Lucien to think they were Rebekah, Niklaus and myself." Elijah explained. I frowned.
"That's… that's really cruel." Cruel, but it explained a lot… like why Tristan reminded me of Elijah so much…
"It was a necessary step," Elijah said.
"Like sending a horde of villagers to attack and burn down Tristan's house?" I murmured.
"I never did that…" he said, looking confused. I opened my mouth to say something but Kol interrupted before I got the chance.
"Whatever the reason, we're all glad your back. Things can finally get back on track now."
I managed to evade further questioning and after we'd put the girls to bed that night, much to the reluctance of the others, I went to my room. I paused outside the door, hand resting on the door.
"You seem to keep forgetting that you belong to me. You have no rights, no choice. You do AS I SAY."
He pushed me down so I fell on the bed and his hands went to his belt. I immediately froze. No. Not here. He'd violated me in so many ways, destroyed my life but I clung to this house, this space as a place of safety. If he had his way, I'd never be able to see it the same.
"No… Lucien, please… not again… not here… I'll be good, I promise… I'm sorry." Tears streamed down my cheek.
I pulled back sharply. I couldn't sleep here. I hesitated, unsure who to seek out. I felt off kilter. Five years, I'd got into the habit of dealing with things alone. Now I had the siblings back, I had no idea what to do with myself. It felt like my entire body had been changed by what had happened.
"Elena, are you alright?"
I turned to see Finn a little way behind me.
"Oh. Hey Finn. Is Freya okay?"
"She's better, yes. She's been resting up, she'll be back to normal by the morning I think."
"Good. I was worried."
He came over and took my hands in his.
"No more worry Elena. You're home, you're safe. The girls are safe. Everything is right."
I looked down at my feet and nodded slightly.
"Do you want to stay with me for a bit?" he asked.
"I think I might go for a walk actually… it's been so long since I could walk around, the novelty is kind of exciting to me."
"Okay. Take your phone, if you need anything I'll be right there."
I nodded, kissed his cheek and headed downstairs. I left the Mikaelson house and went out onto the darkened streets of New Orleans.
I found myself soothed by the music and the lights of the city. I felt my body relaxing. I was home, this was home. Things would be okay, it would just take a little while to adjust back to normal. I closed my eyes, standing there, letting the sounds of the city wash over me.