Elena was sitting with Elijah on the couch in his study. He'd ushered her up there not long after she got back and saw how upset she was. For a while, they just sat in silence as he comforted her. It was more than an hour before she could tell him what happened, but he was patient enough to wait for her. Once she did tell him, she broke down in his arms again.
Elijah held his sister in silence until she finally calmed down. It took a while, but he was more than willing to let her breakdown with him. She had been through a lot. She deserved the chance to finally let go and cry about it all. He only wished there was more he could do for her. Unfortunately, until he found a way to get her out of Mystic Falls and out of his mother's grasp, some comfort and advice was all he could offer her.
Once she was calm enough, Elena pulled out of her brother's arms and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Sorry."
"Do not apologize, Elena. You have every right to be upset. You were put in a terrible position today. You did the right thing though. You did the smart thing. You were smart enough to realize that what your friends were doing would only make things worse for you, and you got yourself out of that situation," Elijah said.
"It was Rebekah's idea to leave. I'm not sure I would've done it if not for her," Elena said.
"I think you would've. You knew you couldn't let them do what they were going to do, and you also knew you might not be able to stop them if they did," Elijah said.
"But now I have to tell Esther, and she's going to take me out of school," Elena said miserably.
"She is," Elijah acknowledged. He wouldn't tell her otherwise. He wouldn't give her a reason to hope when there was none. Their mother would undoubtedly pull Elena out of school. "Elena, I know you want to go back to school, but I don't think it's in your best interest right now. Your so-called friends have made it clear that they are not going to stop making things more difficult for you. They can't be trusted."
"I don't remember them being this dumb," Elena said bitterly.
Elijah chuckled. "I do. We are sometimes blinded by our feelings when it comes to the people we care about. Your friends have done several things that have caused problems for you simply by not thinking the entire situation through." That was also why he was taking his time with getting them out of Mystic Falls. While he would love nothing more than to whisk his sister away right now, he knew that that would only hurt her more. Forcing her to stay in a situation she hated for the foreseeable future wasn't ideal, but it would make things better for her down the road.
"I know," Elena said. She had said the same thing. She was in the situation she was in in the first place because her friends decided to open a coffin with no idea of what they were unleashing on her. "I'm so angry, Elijah. I don't know that I can forgive them for this. I'm so tired of having to clean up the mess or deal with the consequences when Damon and Stefan, and now Bonnie, do something stupid!"
"I don't blame you for feeling that way. You have every right to be angry. You have been put in a horrible position, and it isn't the first time. And that's why I do believe Mother is right about you staying away from the Salvatores'. She had to be accidentally right about something eventually," Elijah said.
Elena let out a snort in response.
"While I have you to myself, there is something I wanted to speak to you about. I've made no secret about my disapproval for the way Mother has been treating you. I believe it borders on a form of abuse. I still feel that way, however, I'm not going to verbalize it anymore," Elijah told her. While he wouldn't tell her his plan to leave and get her hopes up, he also didn't want her believing he was no longer on her side if he could avoid it.
"You're going to lie. I've rarely seen you lie," Elena commented.
"I abhor lying. You know important my word is to me. However, there are instances in which I am willing to make exceptions. You know that too. I want Mother to trust me the way she does Finn. That way perhaps she'll trust you with me instead of him so much," Elijah explained.
Elena nodded. She would definitely prefer that. She hated Finn. She would much prefer Elijah go with her, should she ever be allowed to go anywhere again. "I understand. I know I should do the same, and I'm trying. It's just really hard."
"I know it is, but I think today will help you quite a bit. You'll tell Mother the truth and she will begin trusting you a bit more. It's still not ideal, but you can make the best of this," Elijah said.
"Okay," Elena said.
Elijah pulled her back into his arms for another hug. Not long after, he heard the front door open. Then he heard his mother's voice demanding that they all come downstairs. "Mother's home. It's time."
Elena nodded before standing up and heading out of her brother's study with him right behind her. She noticed Rebekah and Kol come out of their rooms as well. Kol must have come home when she was with Elijah.
Rebekah rolled her eyes as she listened to her mother's angry voice downstairs. From what she'd gathered so far, Finn had tried to pick them up from school at the end of the day and found that they weren't there. Her mother seemed to believe they'd run off.
"Well, she's livid," Kol whispered.
"Let's get this over with," Elena whispered in a barely audible tone before heading downstairs with the others trailing behind her. As soon as they got down half the stairs, they found Esther on the main floor with Klaus and Finn.
"Mother, would you calm down. Everything is fine," Klaus said.
"Everything is not fine, Niklaus. Your sisters have gone missing!" Esther fumed.
"Don't be ridiculous. They're right there," Klaus said as he pointed to the stairs as his other siblings continued to descend them.
Esther turned to see her remaining children coming down the stairs, including Elena and Rebekah. "How long have the two of you been here?" she asked as she pointed between Elena and Rebekah.
"Since just after lunch," Rebekah said.
Suddenly, Elena got an idea to screw Finn over. She should at least get some pleasure out of all of this. "Finn, where were you? We had an emergency and needed you to pick us up, but you didn't answer your phone. We had to call Klaus instead. It was supposed to be you. Mother made that clear.
Both Kol and Rebekah had to keep themselves from smirking at their sister.
Klaus didn't even try to hide his, as his mother's back was towards him. Elena was definitely one of them. She hid it well, but she was perfectly capable of being petty and vengeful when she wanted to be. He was proud of her.
Esther turned to Finn. "Finn, tell me I'm hearing incorrectly."
"I…I'm still not used to these devices," Finn stammered as he took out his cellphone.
Klaus snatched the phone from his brother's hand and pulled up the call log. "Ah, yes, there's Rebekah, twice. I'm in here too. Here, Mother. You can see for yourself," he said before handing her the phone helpfully.
Esther looked at it briefly before looking at her eldest sternly. "Finn, what is the meaning of this? I counted on you."
"Mother, I apologize, but it was hours before school should've let out. I thought Rebekah was just trying to pester me," Finn said.
"We'll discuss this later," Esther said before turning to Elena. "Elena, I want you with me please."
Elena nodded and began walking towards her.
"I was a part of this as well. Should I not join?" Rebekah asked.
Esther shook her head. She wanted to speak to Elena privately. Rebekah would take over in answering her questions and possibly lie. She wanted to hear what Elena and only Elena had to say. "Not at this time, Rebekah. If I have questions for you, I will find you later. Elena, come."
Elena followed Esther into the living room, where the witch instructed her to sit.
Esther took a seat across from Elena. "Now, perhaps you would like to tell me what exactly was so emergent that you and your sister felt the need to go against my orders. You don't appear sick, so I know it's not that."
"No, Mother. It was an emergency. I didn't feel safe staying until the end of the day. Caroline told us that the Salvatore brothers and my friend, Bonnie, were planning to try to kidnap me at the end of the day. Damon was supposed to show up and grab me. We called Finn, but he didn't answer. I know I wasn't supposed to go with anyone but him, but I was afraid to wait until the end of the day. If we had, I fear that we really would've been missing when you got here today," Elena explained. She made sure to show quite a bit of fear. Some of it was genuine, as she had been afraid of what the consequences would've been for her if her friends had gone through with their plan.
"I see. You do understand that if you are telling me the truth, I will have no choice but to pull you out of school, don't you?" Esther asked. She wasn't entirely convinced her daughter was being truthful. It just seemed implausible that anyone would be stupid enough to think that that would work. However, it wasn't as if lying about this would be beneficial to Elena. She had wanted to go to school. This would put an end to that. "And if you are lying to me, there will be consequences. I will not tolerate being lied to, Elena."
"Yes, I understand. I'm telling the truth, I swear," Elena said.
"It's just that I find hard to believe that those children are this stupid," Esther said.
Elena laughed bitterly. "Stefan's stupidity would astound you. He thinks he needs to save me, and somehow, he thought this plan would do that."
"It sounds as if you've been speaking with him, which you were forbidden to do," Esther commented.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but I was just so angry when I heard about what he was planning. I confronted him. I told him to back off. I told him I didn't want his help and that this was my home," Elena said. The last part wasn't true, but she knew that Rebekah would back her up if Esther asked.
"Did you? It wasn't too long ago that you tried to run from me. You would've taken any help to get away from here," Esther reminded her.
Elena managed to keep the scowl that threatened to form off her face. Esther seemed content to hold a natural reaction against her for eternity. "I…I wasn't exactly running from you. I was running for the situation. I was scared. I've been in the supernatural world for months, but that was the crazies thing I'd ever heard. It was also the most frightening because, despite what I said that night, I knew it could be possible. I knew by then that anything was possible. That's what I was running from. I couldn't face it."
"Running from a problem doesn't make it go away," Esther said.
"I know. It was a mistake. I was terrified. But things are different now. I've started to adjust. Even if I don't love every aspect of the way things are. This is my home, my family," Elena said. She meant part of that. She did feel she had family here. She had begun to see Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah as siblings. Even Klaus, she knew she could at least count on. If Esther and Finn weren't there, she could probably even like living at the mansion.
"I'm glad to hear that. I am going to have to pull you from school. It's not safe for you to attend any longer. Bonnie Bennett is now on the list of people you will not be allowed to see. I am quite disappointed. I would've expected Ayana's descendent to be smarter than this," Esther said.
"I understand," Elena said sadly.
"You did well though. You've earned some trust today," Esther said.
"Does that mean you'll stop having Finn spy on me?" Elena asked.
"Not quite yet, but perhaps sooner than I had planned if you continue to behave this way. In the meantime, I think you've earned the privilege of having your cell phone back. However, the only person you're allowed to speak with outside of the family is Caroline. She too has proven herself trustworthy today," Esther said.
"I understand. Thank you, Mother," Elena said.
"You're welcome, darling. You may go, unless there's anything more you wish to talk about," Esther said.
Elena shook her head before getting up and leaving the room.
