The next morning, Klaus found himself quite irritated. He'd told his siblings about their mother's death, and they all seemed to blame him for it. Rebekah wouldn't stop glaring at him since he told her. She didn't believe him when he said it wasn't him, neither did Kol. He couldn't tell what Elijah believed. And, unfortunately, Finn wasn't there to set the record straight. "I'm telling you, I didn't kill her," he said as they all stood around the living room.
"Please, Nik. You were the only one home," Rebekah said.
"I was with Kol most of the night," Klaus said.
"Yeah, but you left first," Kol said.
"I'm telling you, Finn killed her. I walked in right after he broke her neck," Klaus said.
"Come on, Nik. You can come up with a better lie than that," Kol said with a scoff. As if Finn would ever kill their mother. Finn kissed their mother's ass. He half suspected Finn was involved with her plot to kill them all.
"I could if I was lying, but I'm not!" Klaus said before looking to his older brother. "You haven't said anything. Do you believe me?"
Elijah sighed. "I'd like to, Niklaus, but it wouldn't be the first time you lied about how Mother died. Look, I understand your temptation, but this is a decision we all should've been a part of."
"Talk to Finn, not me! I didn't bloody do it!" Klaus yelled.
"It seems awfully convenient that he's not here to defend himself. You daggered him again, didn't you?" Rebekah accused.
"No, I didn't bloody dagger him! He just left after he did it," Klaus said.
Just then, they all heard the front door. Finn entered the room moments later. "What are you all yelling about?"
"Finally! Tell them it was you, would you?" Klaus asked his oldest brother irritably.
"Finn, Mother is dead and Nik is trying to claim you did it," Rebekah said.
"I did," Finn admitted sadly. He'd left because he needed time to himself to deal with it. He didn't regret what he'd done, but that didn't mean it was easy to come to terms with. It didn't mean he didn't feel guilty for having murdered his own mother.
"What?" Rebekah asked in disbelief. "No, you wouldn't do that. You loved Mother more than any of us."
"Why, Finn?" Elijah asked. Finn was the most vocal about not wanting their mother killed. He didn't even want her locked up. Elijah was pretty sure the only reason he hadn't released her was because of what Elena might do to her if she was confronted with her.
"I had no choice. She intended to sell Elena over to Dahlia in order to buy Freya's freedom. I couldn't let her do that. She would've gotten free eventually," Finn explained.
Elijah sighed. This had been what he was afraid of. He worried that his mother might sell Elena out if she was released. It was why he had found himself agreeing with Niklaus that killing her might be the best option. "You did the right thing, Finn."
"She thought I was going to help her. She thought I would help her sell out an innocent child," Finn said.
"How could she do any of this? We're her children. Elena is her granddaughter," Rebekah said in a shaky voice.
Elijah put an arm around her to comfort her.
"Did you destroy the body?" Finn asked Klaus.
Klaus smirked. "Yes, and I thoroughly enjoyed lighting her up."
"Niklaus," Elijah warned as he continued to comfort their sister. He understood why his brother had no empathy for their mother, but Rebekah was clearly upset.
"What? She was planning to murder us all, and she sold our sister and intended to do the same to our niece," Klaus said.
"She was still our mother!" Rebekah snapped. The entire thing was upsetting. She hated what her mother had done to all of them, but she was still her mother. It was hard to hate her, even if she knew she should.
"She was, but she wasn't who we thought she was. I always thought she had no choice in what happened with Freya, but Elena is living proof that she did. She had options, even if they weren't ideal. She didn't even try to save her. And last night, she tried to convince me to sell Elena over to the same vile woman who tormented Freya. I no longer recognized her. I had no choice," Finn said.
Rebekah shuddered. "I don't blame you for what you did, Finn. I know you wouldn't have if you had any other choice. That doesn't mean I need to hear Nik gleefully discuss burning her body."
"I agree," Elijah said while giving his brother a look.
Just then, Elena came into the room and noticed her aunt and uncles all standing around. "Do you guys usually hold group meetings at the crack of dawn? If so, never wake me for them."
"Not exactly, love. You recall me telling you that you'd get your chance for revenge against my mother? I lied," Klaus told her matter-of-factly.
Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot or a Salvatore. I'd figured that out by now. So, you finally killed her? Tell me it was at least painful."
Rebekah huffed and glared angrily at Elena before storming out of the room.
Elena grimaced as she watched her aunt leave. She supposed she shouldn't have said that. She didn't mean to upset Rebekah. Sometimes she just spoke without thinking things through.
"I'll go after her," Kol said before walking out of the room.
"I'd like a word with Elena alone please," Elijah told his other siblings, causing them both to nod and leave the room. He then beckoned his niece towards him.
"I didn't mean to upset Rebekah," Elena said as she walked towards her uncle.
"I know. I'm not upset, but I do want to talk with you for a few minutes. Come sit," Elijah said before taking a seat on the couch.
Elena sat down next to him.
"Elena, I know you didn't intend to upset Rebekah, but I want you to understand that this whole thing has been very upsetting for her. It has for all of us, but especially Rebekah. She loved our mother very much, and the things she did devastated Rebekah. She's taking her death hard. She still loved her," Elijah told her.
"But why? Esther tried to kill all of you. She turned you into vampires and lied to you your whole lives. She cursed Klaus and sold my mother. She should hate her," Elena said.
This was one of the times where Elijah had to remember that Elena was much younger than she appeared. There were things about the world she didn't understand yet. She had only known a loving parent. She didn't know what it meant to love someone, even after they'd hurt her. "It's hard to stop loving someone, especially a parent, even when they stop deserving your love. Rebekah was very hurt and angry by our mother's actions, but she couldn't turn her love off for her.
"Okay. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, but I hate Esther. I can't help it. She ruined my life and my mom's," Elena said. Every time she thought of Esther, she felt a deep hatred.
"I know, sweetheart. You have every right to feel that way. My mother put you and your mother in a terrible position. You have every right to be angry and to hate her. I hope one day you can let that hatred go for your own sake, but I know that won't happen for a long time. I can also understand your need to express your anger. Its been a long time since you've been able to express yourself. You've had to hide behind masks, and that wasn't fair. I'm glad you feel comfortable enough around us to be yourself. I told you that I want this house to be a safe place for you. However, it's also important to be mindful of the feelings of others. I think you know that. I know a lot of what you've shown me in the past was a mask, but I don't think it all was. I think you are very compassionate. I would just like you to continue with that," Elijah told her kindly.
Elena nodded.
"I'm not asking you to stop expressing yourself, but maybe for a little while, you can express your hatred for my mother a little less? Can you at least try to show how happy about her death?"
"Okay, I will," Elena promised. She could actually picture her mother having this same conversation with her. Her mom always wanted her to be mindful of others. Not that they were around a lot of people to be mindful of. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. As I said, you have every right to feel the way you do. I also understand that being here with us is an adjustment. We all need to get used to this new situation. You need to get to know us and we need to get to know you, the real you," Elijah said.
"Okay," Elena said. She didn't like the idea of living at the mansion at first. It was definitely a change from being with Alaric, who let her do anything she wanted. Elijah definitely wasn't like that. But it was nice not to have to hide all the time, to not have to think through every move she made. It was nice to be herself again.
"Good. Now, I know I said you'd start school today, but I don't think Rebekah will be up to it, so I'm going to keep you home another day at least," Elijah said.
"I don't need Rebekah to babysit me, Elijah. I'll follow your rules. I won't do magic at school," Elena promised. She really wanted to go. She liked going to school. It was one of the only good things to come out of being in someone else's body. She got to go to school for the first time. She'd give it up in a minute if she could have her mom back, but it was still nice.
"I believe you. You've given me your word, and you've given me no reason to believe you won't follow it. That isn't what it's about. It has more to do with your friends. I do not trust Bonnie or Stefan around you alone, especially Stefan," Elijah said.
"But I can take care of myself, and they're not going to do anything in public. They're not that stupid," Elena said. Thene again, she had underestimated Stefan's stupidity before. Even Bonnie could be kind of stupid at times. That had more to do with arrogance though. Ever since she found out she was a witch, she basically thought she was all powerful. Arrogance by itself wasn't all bad. Elena knew she was pretty arrogant at times herself when it came to magic, but she could back it up with power she wielded and controlled. Bonnie thought she was more powerful than she was.
Elijah raised an eyebrow at his niece. "Really? Because every time you mention Stefan, the word 'idiot' usually comes up at least twice, a description I don't disagree with."
"Alright, Stefan is pretty stupid, but even if he did do something, I could protect myself, even without magic. There's going to be hundreds of other people around. Please, Uncle Elijah," Elena begged. She threw in the 'uncle' thing in for good measure. She wasn't confident it would work on Elijah, but it was worth a try.
"You do realize now that you've used that, I will expect you to call me that going forward, don't you? You don't just get to use it to get what you want," Elijah said. He had no intention of pushing her to address him as her uncle. It was as he said, this was an adjustment. However, if she was comfortable enough to use the term to get what she wanted, she was comfortable enough to do it on a regular basis. "Alright, but I don't want you alone with Stefan or Bonnie. In fact, I don't want you around Stefan period if it's avoidable. If possible, I'd like you to stick close to other students. I'd rather you be alone as little as possible. Alright?"
Elena immediately nodded. "Okay, I promise. Thank you.
"Alright, go on and get ready. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're done. After that, I will drive you to school," Elijah said.
Elena nodded and then ran from the room with a grin.