-4-

Isolde

"Yes, yes, I know. It's way past dinner time. I'm sorry!" Isolde said, nearly tripping over her cats when she opened the door.

Theon and Vera were behind her, locked in a contemplative silence, following their elder sister into her kitchen. The drive home had been quiet, the three considering how the evening had taken a sharp left from their expectations.

Isolde put on a pot of coffee and grabbed the cat food out from under the sink, shaking the bag at the furry little menaces. "Is this what you want?"

Isolde's cat, Mura, and her two surviving kittens, Chaos and Order, all yowled in response. Order pawed at Isolde's foot and licked her lips while Chaos tried to trip Isolde on her way to his dish, really living up to their names. All three nearly tripped over themselves the second she filled the bowls.

The twins pulled out chairs at the table, mugs of coffee in hand, and sagged into them. Theon pulled his long hair out of it's formal bun and loosened his tie before he leaned back with folded arms. Vera was staring down at her coffee with a slight frown.

Isolde joined them with her own mug, took a sip, and finally broke the silence. "You should know Qetsiya's last heir lives here and is without a mentor. Or rather- the girl's mother doesn't care to mentor her and her grandmother died recently."

Vera huffed and sat back to mirror her brother's posture. "I don't know what's become of the witch community these days. We used to have a greater sense of pride than this. To abandon our young before they've fully grown into their abilities… it's disgraceful."

Theon rocked his chair back onto two legs, bracing one arm against the edge of the table. "They still do, in more concentrated magical areas like New Orleans. Still, it's all just a game of politics and power grabs."

"The more things change the more they stay the same." Isolde agreed with narrowed eyes as her brother came perilously close to letting the chair fall back. "If you break another one of my chairs I'll break you ." Theon just smiled cheekily and held his position.

"Speaking of New Orleans, that's where I last heard of Dahlia. I'll start there. She'll be asleep right now I imagine."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Theon asked, finally dropping the chair to the ground with a horrible squeak.

Vera shook her head. "No, all you two need to do is start getting to know your bonds. Get their measure, too. If the gods saw fit for them to be a part of our family then I'm assuming they have what it takes to be one of us… or five more of us, rather? " Vera laughed a bit and shook her head, slightly bewildered. "From what I've heard of them over the last few centuries they do seem a good fit. Though they're lacking in true discipline, which is why they're not in control of their species like we are ours. They demand respect without doing anything to earn it. To be part of this family, that must change."

"They are only a thousand years old and their immortality was born of necromantic witch magic. Vampires are notoriously emotionally unstable." Theon countered. "We can't exactly hold them to our standard simply because they're immortals."

"True." Isolde agreed and smiled to herself, picking at the flowers that were arranged around her table's centerpiece. "Compared to us, everyone lacks the kind of discipline it takes to control a species." Isolde smirked.

"What do you think the Mikaelson's reactions will be to learning we're literally older than paper?" Theon laughed with a wry grin at his older sister over the top of his mug.

Vera snorted and rolled her eyes. "Not by much, only a couple decades."

"After a brief adjustment period, I feel like they'll be able to go with it, honestly." Isolde answered. "Like Vera said, the gods saw fit for them to be a part of our family, after all."

"And who are we to question the gods?" Theon lifted his mug and the girls lifted theirs as well, clanking them together in agreement.

There was a brief silence.

"I have that electric feeling, the one where the very air feels different... like a storm is brewing that we can't see. I think shit is about to get messy." Isolde admitted, tilting her cup to watch the reflection of the light overhead reflect in her coffee. "Should we tell Emeric now or wait?"

Theon rubbed a hand over his forehead and sighed. "If we wait he'll be pissed."

"But if we tell him now he'll be on the next flight out and neither of you would have had any time to get to know your bonds before he interferes to test them." Vera pointed out. "I'd say the two of you tell him after I return. That'll be a few weeks to settle in before Emeric comes to stir things up."

Theo grumbled. "As he is wont to do."

"As he is wont to do." Isolde echoed.

Their talking was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and Theon jumped up from the table.

"That's Rebekah. Please, please leave us alone and don't be embarrassing." He looked in the mirror and messed with his hair, undid the top two buttons of his dress shirt, threw off his jacket - not even looking as it landed on Vera's head, and swaggered off toward the front door.

Isolde and Vera looked at each other and promptly burst out laughing.

Elijah

Her words echoed in his mind long after she'd walked out of the door with her siblings.

'Your mother knows us from when she was young and we were still reeling from allowing Rome to fall. It was a calculated loss, of course, but a sad one nonetheless. We'd ruled for over a thousand years at that point so I suppose we were just feeling a bit… listless.'

He was just now beginning to unpack that statement. Because that meant they'd been immortal at least fifteen hundred years longer than he and his family had. And if that was true, then it meant Elijah had missed something very important in the last thousand years.

It meant there were most certainly more supernatural beings out there than Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches. And not already knowing that would be an enormous oversight. A failure on his part.

He briefly wondered if the Strix had ever encountered another kind of immortal.

And there was that side conversation between Isolde and her sister…

"Ignoring that, do you think Freya…"

The short haired woman was already nodding. "Possibly. I'll leave tomorrow, it'll cut family time short-"

"No worries," his soul bond waved a dismissive hand, "their bullshit is now our bullshit. This is family business."

And again, Isolde had claimed his family as her own through the bond.

'So now hearing of all this drama, and having both me and Theon bound to you, your bullshit has just become our bullshit.'

'There's a good chance Freya is still alive- just bound to Dahlia. If anyone can find and rescue her from that, it's Vera.'

He'd never expected to have a soul bond. He certainly didn't consider he'd ever meet her, if he did have one. And if he did, which hadn't been a likelihood at this stage of his life, he expected she would run in fear of him and his family. But it seemed fate had other plans, and Isolde Alexander was no coward.

She was not afraid of them. In fact, she was embracing them. No questions asked. She'd swooped in and saved them from their own mother without an ounce of hesitation.

Isolde was magnificent , and mated to all his brothers. Her brother was mated to Rebekah. Despite the sudden upheaval, this had the potential to finally and truly unite his family. To pave their road to redemption and make it easier to traverse. Elijah would not allow Isolde to slip from their grasp.

But first, they had to get through this night. So Elijah broke free of his introspection and resumed his vigil over his family.

Niklaus was circling their mother with his arms behind his back and a menacing smile adorning his features.

Whatever Theon had done to the humans had made them all leave with smiles upon their faces just moments after the Alexander siblings had. They'd released a sobbing Elena into the Salvatore's custody, all sufficiently terrified because there were new game changing characters on the chessboard.

The Mikaelson's were alone.

"Your magic is truly off, isn't it Mother?" Finn asked quietly.

Esther sent her eldest a glare that would've killed him on the spot if she could've managed it.

"You were to assist me and now you've betrayed me, Finn, and for what? That accursed monster ? I thought you were better than being corrupted by a beautiful face."

Niklaus sped forward and grabbed Esther by the throat, lifting her off her feet as his eyes flashed gold.

"Nik, put her down! She has no magic, she's no more powerful than a human right now." Rebekah scolded.

Niklaus ignored his sister as he held Esther up, growling menacingly, but it was Elijah who spoke as he came up beside Niklaus. "Whilst I agree that Isolde is quite attractive you would do well to remember she is soul bonded to all of your sons, and thus deserves your regard. I'll not have you disrespecting our mate, Mother."

"Why don't you tell us why you think Isolde is a monster?" Kol chimed in, a glint of malice in his eyes, his smile sharp as he observed Esther from Niklaus' other side.

Klaus reluctantly dropped Esther, not bothering to help her up when she crumbled to the floor. But Finn surged forward to offer his arm. Esther refused it, taking ragged breaths and glaring at her children.

"If you recall," Esther croaked, hand now rubbing at her throat, "she agreed with me."

"Oh don't stall, mother." Rebekah scolded with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, coming to stand with her brothers. Elijah felt lighter than he had in a long time, seeing all of his siblings standing in a half circle around a common… well he wouldn't call Esther a threat at this point. A common enemy?

It was unity. Tonight his family was truly united over something.

Esther pushed herself up so she was sitting on her knees. "They came when I was young. Your aunt Dahlia and I were out in the forest with a group of practitioner's from our village, herb gathers, no one trained in defensive magic." She paused for a moment to take a few breaths.

"A small group of Northmen from a nearby settlement stumbled upon us, harassing us. They stole our herbs and grabbed the older girls, shoving them down and ripping their skirts. We all knew what they were trying to do."

Esther paused, eyebrows snapping together and eyes going wide as she looked at her children. "There was no warning, one moment the girls were crying and pleading, the next the temperature had dropped to near freezing and the Northmen were stabbed through with dark, tentacle-like things . The men dangled from the trees above us, dead, and their blood rained down upon us, painting the forest floor red. Lady Iseult stood mere feet from us, the tentacles that killed the men stretching impossibly from her body ."

The siblings looked at each other with slightly narrowed eyes, considering their mother's words.

Elijah, recovering more quickly than they did, glanced down at his mother questioningly. "You make it sound as if she is a monster for saving your people. Despite her brutal methods, you were rescued."

Esther nodded, seeming to actually agree with Elijah. "Yes, we were. The other three appeared in the forest beside her moments after, speaking in a language we'd never heard. With their darker skin tones and exotic features, paired with the language they spoke we thought they were evil monsters come to finish what the northmen had begun, or to use us as some sort of ritualistic sacrifice. We were terrified."

A smile, small but there nonetheless blossomed across their mother's face. "But Dahlia was fearless, and she walked up to them, to Iseult , and demanded they teach her how to be like them. Iseult, perfectly in our language, told Dahlia she could never be like them." Esther shook her head, pushing herself up so she could stand. "It was Master Vera who agreed to teach my sister, in the end." On her feet, Esther started walking away, towards the living room, still rubbing her neck every few seconds. They all followed her.

Settling upon the couch and attempting to look dignified, she continued. "In the decade they remained with us in our Coven, we never uncovered what they all were, for none of them was like the other."

Finn appeared with a glass of water and Esther drank some, though she still frowned at her eldest and offered no thanks for his thoughtfulness.

"We knew Master Vera was likely the most powerful witch alive. Even Dahlia, the strongest in our coven, couldn't muster even a fraction of Master Vera's power." She paused and handed Finn the glass of water. "As evidenced today by how she cut off my magic, kept Elena silent, and two vampires almost a hundred and fifty years old completely immobile without a strain on her magic. She is… limitless. As if she doesn't draw her power from nature or even ancestors at all."

Esther laid her hands on her lap, looking at her children. "Lord Theon, or Theonitus as he was called in that time, would light a massive fire on the seventh day every week. And around him we would laugh, drink, sing, and dance. The children would play, and we'd sit around listening to stories well into the night. All the tension of the times was released on that day. The children went to bed while it was still innocent fun, and then… when we were tucked away, the libertine debauchery began."

At this, Rebekah began to look slightly uncomfortable. Elijah placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "She's trying to turn you against your bond, Rebekah. Hear her, but ask Theon for his explanation when you next meet." He returned his attention to his mother. "Continue, but don't think your stories will turn us from our bonds, mother."

Esther glared at him, but continued nonetheless. "Lord Emeric was… frightening and intense. He changed appearance at will, right down to the most finite details. He could be anyone at any time. He had a commanding presence, intimidating. When it suited him he single handedly slaughtered half of the nearby village for daring to request Vera marry their leader's son to form a connection with our village. Despite this Lord Emeric was also a politician, and after the slaughter he negotiated with the village he'd nearly destroyed in order to grant us peace from retaliation. They were afraid of him, but they bowed to his will as though he was their Jarl . He had them under his control in less than a single night, and the Northmen had opened trade with us and began teaching us their ways as we taught them ours. That's how I met your father."

"Sounds a bit like a more competent version of you, doesn't he brother?" Kol asked Elijah.

Though he didn't want to admit it out loud, Elijah agreed with Kol. Perhaps not on the level of competency, but Emeric did sound quite like Elijah. Down to the man's brutal reaction to someone requesting his sister as a bargaining chip.

"Sounds as though you four shouldn't be glad to meet him any time soon." Rebekah snarked, echoing Elijah's thoughts.

"They shouldn't." Esther agreed. "Because Iseult is Emeric's favorite . He murdered half a village for Vera. I imagine he'd go farther for Iseult as she is the only one legitimately related to him. According to something Vera told Dahlia, Emeric's mother died giving birth to him and his father remarried; producing Iseult. Then their father was murdered by power grabbers seeking to unseat him from the throne-"

"Throne? You're saying they are royalty?" Niklaus interrupted. He'd been silent, leaning against one of the houses' support beams just a few feet away from all of his siblings, arms crossed over his chest

"Yes." Esther declared, face drawn and shoulders beginning to sag. This day had worn on her. "They are ancient royalty; Egyptians, from the time of the pyramids. All of them were at one time a Pharaoh. Later when they immigrated west they became Greco-Roman conquerors. Emperors, military leaders, strategists, engineers, politicians, murderers and genocidal maniacs. Around one of those seventh day fires, Theon once told us children that Emeric had been once known as Alexander the Great, and that was why they chose to call themselves the Alexanders. "

"If all this is true," Klaus began, facing his siblings, "then our soul bond has given us a gift by eternally uniting the two strongest families in the world as one."

Esther laughed dryly. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Niklaus. You'll have to pass whatever test Emeric devises for you. Do not think for a moment he won't kill any of you if he believes you unworthy of Iseult or Theon."

"Power is truly all you care about, isn't it Nik?" Rebekah accused, ignoring Esther's warning. "You've met your soul bond and already your twisted mind is thinking up all the ways you can use her to your advantage. You're disgusting. I should warn her how sick and manipulative you are before she ends up hurt by you."

Niklaus rose to Rebekah's challenge with a menacing growl, eyes narrowed as he threw himself off the column he'd been resting against and stalked down towards Rebekah with hatred in his eyes. "And shall I warn Theon that you've allowed thousands of men into your bed? That you abandon family when a cock comes calling? That you are pathetic and weak. Or shall I explain to him, this man who was once a Pharaoh of Egypt , that you are just as low born and broken as I?"

"Niklaus!" Finn had grabbed his younger brother by the shoulder and ripped him away from Rebekah, who was sobbing and slowly inching out of the room with wide eyes. "Leave her alone, you fiend. Can't you see you've made your point?"

"How dare she accuse me of not caring! All I've ever done is care. For all of you!" Klaus bellowed, golden eyes filling with tears as the veins of his neck strained.

"You have a sick way of showing it, Nik," Kol interrupted, coming to stand beside Elijah, "I suppose we're meant to believe daggers in our hearts are the way you express affection. If that's the case I could do without it."

This only succeeded in further igniting Niklaus' ire as he roared; "Someone had to save you from yourself, Kol. You can hardly control bloodlust! It was you who managed to give away our location for Mikael to find us nearly every time we became truly happy where we'd settled."

"Oh I see, Nik," Kol groweld through clenched teeth, "I've continuously ruined your dream of finding a happy little home have I?"

Elijah watched his family erupt around him. Rebekah had just fled the house, Finn was seething and helping their exhausted mother up the stairs. He was grateful they'd asked Vera to put a barrier on the house so Esther couldn't leave it. The last thing they needed was Esther escaping and finding another witch to do her bidding; Bonnie Bennett, most likely.

His family had a long way yet to go, but today had given him a glimmer of hope stronger than he'd had in nine hundred years. So as Kol and Niklaus nearly came to blows. Elijah just smiled and poured himself a glass of scotch.

"Wait a minute," Niklaus stopped suddenly, holding his hand up in Kol's face, which made Kol stop too. They both looked over to where Elijah had just nonchalantly seated himself upon the vacated couch. "Why aren't you intervening?"

Both of Elijah's younger brother's anger began to diffuse, Elijah could see their shoulder's sagging as curiosity blossomed across their faces.

"Because for the first time in a thousand years, Niklaus, we were all together and we faced down a common threat together . Even Finn, who had withheld the truth and conspired to kill us with Mother, changed his tune at the last minute." He swirled his glass and took a sip of the amber liquid, enjoying the burn before he looked back to his brothers. "Because at this moment there is someone planning to track down our imprisoned older sister we didn't know existed completely because she wanted to do so, not because we threatened her to. Because you didn't dagger Kol or Rebekah or Finn tonight. And because Mother, though utterly powerless, isn't dead by your hand at this moment."

"Don't get your hopes up for redemption quite yet, brother." Kol grumbled. "I'm still contemplating Mother's death."

"I believe that would be a mistake." Elijah admitted, crossing one leg over the other and looking down at his glass, appreciating how the low light in the room amplified the color.

"And why would that be, Elijah?" Niklaus asked with a raised brow as he plucked his sketchbook off an end table and sat at the opposite end of the couch from Elijah. Kol flopped down into the chair across from them.

"Because we just learned that our older sister is alive, and that we have a powerful aunt that stole her and cursed our bloodline. Mother has hidden things from us. I intend on discovering all her secrets." He threw back the rest of his scotch, a dark look briefly crossing his features. The monster behind the red door growling, scratching, and begging to be released upon anyone who would dare to fuck with his family. "And then I will kill her myself for the way she talks about our mate."

Now we know who the Alexanders are (as told by Esther, who doesn't have all the facts- keep that in mind.) We're only a few chapters away from an explanation on just what the Alexander's are. I'm stoked. Tell me your theories!