"Sister!" shouted a young voice from behind – a welcome interruption to their conversation. Rory's small arms wrapped around her from behind, nuzzling his face into her curls. "You're awake!"

Sienna laughed and pulled Rory to her front. He dropped happily into her lap, "Look what Miss. Rebekah made me," he said, gesturing to the crown on his head. "She made it herself!"

Sienna grinned, admiring the perfection in the twisted stems. "It's beautiful," Sienna complimented. Rebekah moved to sit next to Elijah, and Sienna mouthed the words 'thank you' at her. Rebekah lit up at the appreciation, smiling and returning a small nod.

"Sister – what happened?" Rory asked, suddenly changing the subject. "Where is Mother and Father? And what happened to you – are you okay? Cause I really thought he was gonna kill you."

Sienna shifted Rory in her lap, trying to find the right words to tell him. Part of her wanted to lie – tell him that they're going to run away together and forget everything that ever happened here. But she knew Rory was wise beyond his years – he deserved the truth and he could handle it.

Rebekah and Elijah stood, politely excusing themselves to give the duo some semblance of privacy.

"Rory," Sienna began, softly. She didn't know where to start. "I…I killed Father." She paused, waiting for his reaction, waiting to see the myriad of emotions she was feeling flash across his little face. Admitting to her crime somehow made it even harder for her to process. Her heart ached, vividly recounting the few good memories she held from her earliest years with him before Rory was born, while her mind battled to fend away any feelings of guilt and grief with logic and reality. It was a confusing, overwhelming storm of relief and anguish.

But Rory's face remained stoic and thoughtful, his body still as it took it in. "…what about Mother?" he finally asked, his voice quiet.

Sienna felt the knife in her heart twist, her words catching in her throat. "Father killed her after they left the village," she finally admitted.

His brows shot up in surprise, then furrowed in a mixture of sadness and confusion. "But why?" he asked.

Sienna shook her head – their father had blamed it on her pregnancy, but that wasn't the truth that Rory needed to know. It was more important for him to know the real truth. "Because there was a darkness inside of him and it consumed him," Sienna explained gently. She took Rory's face in her hands, locking eyes with him intensely. "Listen to me very carefully, Rory – nothing Father ever did to us was our fault. Nothing he ever did to mom was her fault," she said. "The things he did, killing mom… it's not for us to understand his reasons. It's all just weak excuses to justify a false narrative in his own messed up mind."

Rory's eyes fell down, his brows knit together, deep in thought, considering his sister's words carefully. After an agonizingly long moment of silence, Rory leaned in and hugged Sienna tightly. "It's okay," he told her, "We're going to be okay. We still have each other."

Sienna melted into his embrace, returning the hug snugly. She couldn't stop the tears from escaping, her heart tight in her chest as she kicked herself for her break in composure. It wasn't fair that he would need to comfort her – that was her job.

"What are we going to do now?" Rory asked, pulling away from the hug. Sienna quickly wiped her tears, trying to hide her momentary lapse from him.

She took a deep breath. "Wellllll, about that…" she said, fiddling with the bottom of Rory's shirt. She didn't really know how to say it. "I'm sort of… turning into a… vampire."

Rory tilted his head, eyeing his sister with confusion. "Like… are you gonna turn into a bat?" he asked innocently.

Sienna groaned. "I don't think so," she said, "but I do need to drink blood."

"Oh," was all he managed. Sienna wondered how much of their mother's stories he'd heard, how much he knew, or thought he knew. "That's weird, but okay."

"Yeah, and um… well, you're the only human around here, so…" She poked his hand awkwardly. "Can I… drink some of your blood?"

Rory looked up at the Mikaelsons near the tree line, drawing all the right conclusions. He was a damn smart kid. "Um, sure," he replied, standing up from her lap. "Do I like… should I put it in a cup for you?"

Sienna shrugged, "I think so? I don't really know how this works yet, either."

"You can ask Miss. Rebekah – she's really nice," Rory offered. Sienna didn't miss the blush spread across his olive cheeks.

"I will," she replied, offering a small smile. "What do you think about us leaving with them? Find a new home, somewhere else?"

Rory nodded eagerly, immediately grinning at the idea. "Can we go to a beach? I've always wanted to see the ocean."

Sienna laughed, "I sure hope so!"