Later that night, Elena was sitting in her room reading a book that Elijah had let her borrow from the bookshelf in his office. As much as she hated this room, she decided she couldn't avoid it forever. She did leave the door open. She didn't want to be caught unaware if Esther came and locked the door on her.

Elena hated Esther so much. What she hated the most about her was that she couldn't even express that hatred because she was afraid of what Esther would do if she did. She'd already locked her up once and threatened to do it again when she got upset with the situation. Elena didn't know what else she might do.

Elena soon heard a knock on her open door. She looked up to see Rebekah there. "Hi."

"Hi. I wanted to let you know that I spoke to your friends. I told them everything," Rebekah said.

Elena nodded. "Elijah said that you were going to. He said you even agreed to be nice."

"Yes, well, I did my best. It's impossible for me to be very nice to stupid people, and your friends are very stupid. Caroline is the only one with an ounce of sense, and that's not saying much," Rebekah said.

Elena chuckled. She wouldn't even argue with her. Her friends could be kind of stupid. They'd opened Esther's coffin because they thought somehow, she'd be a help to them. What a joke that turned out to be. "Thanks for talking to them. How did they take it?"

"The idiots wanted to storm the mansion," Rebekah said.

"God, I hope they don't do that," Elena said. That was the last thing she needed. It wouldn't help anything. At best, they would end up severely injured and sent away, and Esther might take it out on her. At worst, and more likely, they would end up dead.

"I stressed the consequences of doing that, and I believe Caroline also helped with that," Rebekah said.

"Thanks. I'm sorry, Rebekah," Elena said. She knew Rebekah would know what she meant. She was sorry for daggering her. She'd felt awful about it before. She felt even worse knowing that Rebekah was her sister.

Rebekah sighed before walking further into the room and closing the door behind her. She didn't know what she closed the door. There wasn't any real privacy, but she supposed she liked the illusion of it. "Why'd you do it, Elena. I was helping you. I thought we were becoming friends."

Elena winced. Rebekah's words only made her feel worse. "I know. I hated myself from the moment I did it. I didn't want to. And, yes, I know you agreed to help us, but I also know you wouldn't have been able to go through with it. I know that because I wouldn't be able to go through with it. I couldn't hurt my own brother, no matter what he did. And, yes, I recognize the irony, given that I now know Klaus is my brother too. Look, I wanted to help Stefan, and save my friends from any more danger from Klaus. I wanted to live my life without being used as Klaus' own personal blood bank. I made a desperate decision, and I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me one day."

Rebekah walked over and sat down on the bed. "I forgave you the moment I found out you were my sister. Nothing is unforgivable among family."

Elena wasn't so sure about that. She didn't know if she could ever forgive Klaus for what he did to Jenna, and she knew she would never forgive Esther for keeping her prisoner. "Thank you. I really am sorry."

"I should apologize too. I did try to kill you. I'm sorry for that," Rebekah said. Granted, she was only sorry because Elena was her sister. A day ago, she was far from sorry. She was only sorry Elijah stopped her. If Elena were anybody else, she would absolutely see her dead. But Elena was her sister, and she would always forgive her sister.

Elena snorted. "It seems you aren't the first sibling I have to do that. And I'm not innocent of it either. Maybe I fit in with you guys more than I thought."

"You know, I was devastated when you died, we all were. I had been ecstatic to have a sister. I figured we could team up against the boys. I also loved that I wouldn't be the youngest anymore," Rebekah said with a smile.

"I still don't know how to feel about any of this. I keep feeling like I'm going to wake up and it will all be a crazy dream. It's hard for me to deal with the fact that I'm in someone else's body, that I was murdered as a newborn," Elena said with a shudder.

"I did say that Mikael wasn't a good person, but even I didn't think he'd go this far," Rebekah admitted. She hated her father so much right now. She hated him before, but now it was a hundred times worse. He'd taken her sister from her. He'd murdered an innocent baby for no other reason than that she wasn't his. He truly was a monster.

"I…I want to be happy at the thought of having more siblings. I always wondered what it would be like to have older siblings to look out for me, like I do Jeremy, but it's clouded by the fact that I feel like a prisoner here," Elena explained.

"I get that. You shouldn't feel that way. How about we get you out of here tomorrow? I could definitely use a shopping trip, and I'd say you could use some new clothes as well, since you don't have your things here," Rebekah said.

"I was told I couldn't leave the house," Elena said bitterly.

"I'll speak to Mother. I'm sure it will be alright if you're with me," Rebekah said.

"Okay. I'd like that," Elena said. That would give her a chance to get to know Rebekah a little more, and it would get her out of her prison for a little while.

"Great. I'll speak to her in the morning. I'll let you be for now," Rebekah said before getting up and heading out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Hours later, Elena started to get ready for bed. She was about to turn off the light when Esther appeared at her desk, causing Elena to immediately stiffen.

"I just wanted to say goodnight, darling. I see that you're getting ready for bed," Esther said.

"Yeah. Goodnight," Elena said as politely as possible.

Esther stepped inside her daughter's room. "Before you go to bed, was there something you wanted to ask me.

Elena frowned a bit. She had no idea what Esther was talking about. What would she need to ask?

Esther decided to elaborate when she saw the confusion on her daughter's face. "When you want something from me, I expect you to come to me personally. Don't go through your siblings."

Elena was still a bit confused. Was Esther talking about shopping with Rebekah? How had she known about that? Rebekah said she was going to ask in the morning. "Rebekah talked to you?"

"No, Finn did. He told me of your conversation," Esther said.

"Finn's reporting my conversations?" Elena asked with a bit of outrage in her voice. She knew she only had an illusion of privacy with five vampires in the house, but she didn't think her conversations were being reported back to Esther.

"For the time being, yes. You will have to earn the privilege of privacy," Esther told her.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong," Elena said. She tried to keep the anger and frustration out of her voice, but she was sure some came through.

"No, and I wish to keep it that way. As I said, privacy will have to be earned. Now, I assure you, I will not punish you for venting to your brother. I don't require that you like me, only that you are respectful and obedient. Do you understand?" Esther asked.

Elena definitely wanted to say something about the demand for respect. Esther wanted respect, but she clearly had none for Elena. However, anything she said about it would only come back to bite her. "Yes, I understand."

"Good. So, I ask again, do you have a request for me?" Esther asked.

"Yeah. Can I go shopping with Rebekah tomorrow?" Elena asked.

"I am amendable to that if Finn accompanies you," Esther said. She didn't yet trust her other children not to interfere with her parenting. They had made it clear that they didn't approve of how she was handling Elena. Finn would do as she instructed.

Elena resisted the urge to scowl. Of course, Esther wanted Finn to go with them. She couldn't adequately spy on her without Finn. Elena had only known Finn for a day, and she already hated him almost as much as Esther. It was clear he did everything Mommy told him to do. "Alright."

"Excellent. I'll let Rebekah know that you have my approval. Goodnight," Esther said.

"Wait. You…You're not going to lock the door, are you?" Elena asked with trepidation.

"Do you promise to stay put if I don't?" Esther asked.

"Yes, Mother," Elena said. The words made her sick, but she hoped calling Esther what she wanted would help make sure she wasn't locked up again.

Esther smiled. "Very well. However, if you try to run, you will be caught, and the door will be locked every night until further notice. Understood?"

"I'm not going to run, if for no other reason than that it would be pointless," Elena said. She wasn't stupid. There were five vampires and a powerful witch in the house. Even if none of them stopped her, Esther would find her and drag her right back. It wouldn't be worth it.

"As long as we understand each other. I'll see you in the morning," Esther said before leaving the room.

Elena sighed in relief that she was gone and the door was left unlocked. She quickly shut off the light and laid down.