Elena walked down to the kitchen for breakfast. About a month had passed since she and Jeremy had moved in with the Originals. They were slowly reaching a new normalcy. Elena still wasn't all that comfortable around Klaus due to their history, but it was getting easier every day. For the most part, things were going smoothly. Elena finally felt mostly safe, which she hadn't felt in a long time.
Elena also felt a lot of stress leave her life when she moved in with the Mikaelson's, which was ironic. Ever since her parents died, she'd felt she had to take on a lot of responsibility where Jeremy was concerned. Her aunt had tried her best, but she just wasn't all that good at the parenting thing. Elijah was though, and he was taking his guardianship responsibilities very seriously. It made Elena feel like she could go back to just being Jeremy's sister again, and she believed that was doing a lot of good for their relationship.
Elena made her way to her spot at the table. "Morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Elena. I hope you got a good night sleep. I know you spent a good portion of the night studying for your test today," Elijah said.
"Yeah. I'm a little tired, but it will be fine," Elena told him before piling some bacon, eggs, and sausage onto her plate. "So, when are we moving into the mansion. I'd kind of like to get settled as soon as possible."
"Ah, yes, we were meaning to speak to you both about that. The renovations will be done within a day or two. Elijah and I plan to wake our siblings by the end of the week," Klaus told them.
"Yes. As discussed, Rebekah will stay here with the two of you while we're gone. It will be about a week, so we can make sure Kol and Finn are well controlled," Elijah explained.
"Yes, and allow them to take their anger out on Nik properly, which I can't believe you're forcing me to miss," Rebekah said.
Klaus rolled his eyes at his sister. "While we're gone, there are to be no visitors."
"Why?" Elena asked. One of her friends usually came over once or twice a week to make sure Klaus hadn't killed them. They weren't going to like hearing that they couldn't now.
"Because we said so," Klaus said with a smirk.
"Niklaus, they deserve an answer," Elijah told his brother before turning to the two teenagers. "I want you both to understand it's not you we distrust. You've both proven your dedication to making this new arrangement work. However, your friends are volatile, and they seem to believe you need to be rescued."
"Yeah, well, they have good reason for that," Jeremy said a bit coolly. He'd accepted his situation, and could even admit that it was slightly better than the last one was, but he still had his problems with the Originals, especially Klaus.
"I'm aware of that, but it only proves my point," Elijah said.
"Okay, but Rebekah will be there," Elena pointed out.
"Yes, I'm more than capable of stopping a couple of idiot vampires and an idiot witch," Rebekah added.
"I would prefer there be nothing to stop. To that end, I would prefer your friends not even know we will be indisposed. It is almost certain they will try something, and I would like to avoid it," Elijah said.
Elena nodded after a minute. She could see his point. Damon and Bonnie were constantly trying to find ways of 'rescuing' them, despite her and Jeremy asking the to leave it alone. Like Elijah, she would like to avoid that as well if possible. "Okay, we won't tell them."
"Thank you. We do appreciate your cooperation with everything. We know this has not been an easy adjustment for either of you," Elijah said.
Elena smiled at him before going back to her breakfast.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Soon enough, Friday came along, and Klaus and Elijah had left to see to their brothers. Elena was in her room finishing up on homework when Rebekah called her downstairs. She went down to the living room to see Rebekah pouring shots of Tequila. "Hey, Rebekah, what's up?"
Rebekah held out a glass for her. "Drink?"
Elena eyed it for a minute before chuckling. "You must really be pissed about being forced to stay here to be breaking Elijah's rules about me not drinking."
Rebekah smirked in response. "Come on, Elena. I know you don't mind breaking the rules. I've seen you drunk."
Elena shrugged before taking the drink. So supposed she would end up breaking the rules at some point anyway. Rebekah was right. It was far from the first time she'd done so. "Fine, but if Elijah finds out, I'm blaming you."
"Of course. Where's Jeremy?" she asked.
Elena chuckled before taking a seat on the couch. "He's in his room with headphones and his sketchpad. We won't see him for the rest of the night."
"Just us then," Rebekah said before taking a seat next to Elena.
"What are Kol and Finn like?" Elena suddenly asked.
"They won't hurt you, if you're worried about that. You're family. That's all they'll need to know to protect you just like the rest of us," Rebekah assured her.
"Well, I won't deny being worried about that, but I would like to know what they're like," Elena said.
"Well, Kol is actually quite a bit like Jeremy, only he has a shorter fuse. He's kind of irresponsible, and he's quite volatile. That's partially why he's been daggered so much. He's come close to getting us caught by Mikael due to his violence. Finn is like our mother in a lot of ways. He was a witch, and because of that, he's never really come to terms with our fate. It caused a lot of issues. I think if he'd just been given time to deal with them, he would've been fine though," Rebekah said. She'd always resented Nik for keeping Finn daggered for so long. He didn't deserve that.
Elena nodded at the explanation. "I guess I'll see for myself once I get to know them."
"No matter what, know that they will look out for you and Jeremy, the way we do. We're all family, and Mikaelson's always look out for family," Rebekah said.
"Rebekah, I want to ask you something, and if it's too personal, you don't have to answer. How did you forgive Klaus for killing your mother?" Elena asked. She knew at least part of the answer. Klaus was her brother. Elena knew she'd forgive her brother anything, and she knew Rebekah was the same. That was why she'd daggered Rebekah. But if Jeremy had killed someone she loved, Elena would struggle with it for a long time.
If Elena were anyone else, Rebekah wouldn't have answered. In fact, she would've made the person regret even asking the question. But Elena was family, and Rebekah knew why she was asking. She knew Elena struggled with forgiveness towards Nik herself. "I'm not certain that I have. I was furious when I realized that Nik was the one that killed her. I wanted him to suffer for it. But at the same time, I can understand why he did it. I don't think he set out to kill her. I think he broke. I told you the way Nik was treated by my father."
"Yeah. The things you told me were awful, but wasn't a lot of that the way the world was then?" Elena asked. She certainly wasn't excusing what Mikael did to Klaus. She found the way he and his siblings were treated to be horrible, but she had to remind herself that it was a different time period. A lot more was acceptable then than it was now. Again, she didn't condone it though. It was sickening to think about how people were allowed to harm their kids.
"Some of it was. No one cared about violence in families then. It was more than acceptable. All of us were subject to beatings, but not the way Nik was. My father hated him. He didn't have a reason for it, he just did. He didn't even know Nik wasn't his son then," Rebekah told her.
"It shouldn't matter if he did. He raised him. I'm adopted. My parents never treated me any different than Jeremy," Elena said.
Rebekah nodded in agreement. "Nik never questioned our father's right to do what he did to him. As you said, it was the way things were then. Parents could do what they wanted. He never questioned our mother allowing it. Until he found out Mikael wasn't his father. Finding out that our mother had let someone who wasn't his father brutally beat him every day made it different. Then she cursed him to lose his werewolf side. I think that enraged him and led to my mother's death. I think he just lost it."
Elena nodded. She could see how that could be how it happened. Klaus certainly had a lot to be angry at. His mother had chosen Mikael over him. She essentially sacrificed her own son for him. Elena couldn't imagine how he must have felt.
"It's not the same for you though. What happened to you and your aunt was calculated and selfish. Although, I think you should know that Nik is sorry for it," Rebekah said. She'd seem glimpses of guilt from her brother occasionally when he'd look at Elena or Jeremy.
"I know he is, but he wasn't sorry until he found out that we were family," Elena said.
"No, he wasn't. I'll be honest, it's difficult for us to care about human life when we've lived longer than every single one of them and will continue to do so."
"I want to forgive him, if only because life will be miserable for me if I don't, but I don't know how. Every time I look at him, all I see is what he did to Jenna," Elena said sadly.
"I wish I could help you. I'm not the most forgiving myself though. However, maybe in time you'll be able to see that that night is not all he is. Maybe even if you can't forgive him, that much will be enough to help you move past it," she said.
"I hope you're right. I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you in the morning," Elena said before getting up and heading out of the room. She needed to be alone.
