"It's not that I'm not perfectly happy to assist you, Elijah, but why did you ask me?"

Elijah turned his head towards Pearl, startled out of his thoughts by her question. They were standing on the pavement outside the house he had purchased when he first came to Mystic Falls, the one his mother now resided in following her confession. The past few days had been tense, the air heavy with unspoken fears and secrets. He knew that everyone sensed something was amiss; their behaviour hadn't exactly been subtle. But besides his siblings and Damon, only Pearl, Katerina, and Maya were fully in the loop.

Finn had confided in Pearl, while Damon and Niklaus had briefed Maya, and Elijah himself had turned to Katerina. He had needed someone outside of his immediate family to talk to, and he hadn't hesitated to call her. Her immediate offer to leverage her extensive network to search for information on Dahlia without asking for anything in return had reassured him that he had made the right choice.

Elijah intended to bring everyone else into their confidence soon; the best way to protect Maya was to ensure everyone was aware of the threat Dahlia posed. But first, he needed to talk to his mother, and he needed someone sharp to accompany him, someone who might catch details he could miss.

"In order to plan, we need more information. And to get that information, we need to question Esther," he explained, his tone measured and thoughtful.

"No, I understand that." Pearl replied, her brow furrowing slightly, "but why me?"

"My siblings are too angry at our mother right now, for me to risk bringing them into her presence, as is Damon. Maya is not an option, for obvious reasons. Currently, you are the only other person inside Mystic Falls apprised of the situation, so it made sense to ask you."

Pearl looked at him intently, her scepticism clear.

"What's the real reason?"

Elijah hesitated, then a reluctant smile tugged at his lips.

"Katerina suggested it."

Surprise flickered through Pearl's eyes.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm with a hint of old-world charm.

With a smile, Pearl accepted the arm he held out to her. As they walked up the path towards the house, the heavy oak door swung inward, pulled open by the butler Elijah had employed to take care of the house. With a softly uttered welcome, he closed the door behind them, then led them through to the parlour, where his mother sat with a tea tray.

She stood up as soon as they entered, brushing off her skirts, a nervous look in her eyes that Elijah had never seen before. His mother had always been strong and in command of any situation; she didn't seem like that now. He wondered if it was death that had changed her or finally confessing her sins after so many years.

"Elijah." There was hope in her tone as she spoke his name.

"Mother," he replied curtly. "I'm sure you remember Pearl."

"Yes, of course. Lovely to see you again, Pearl," Esther said, her voice tinged with genuine warmth despite her evident anxiety.

"Likewise, Mrs. Mikaelson," Pearl responded, her tone polite but guarded.

Elijah gestured for Pearl to take a seat, then positioned himself opposite his mother, his eyes fixed on her.

"We need to talk," he began, his voice steady and resolute.

Esther nodded, her hands trembling slightly as she poured tea into delicate porcelain cups.

"I know. There is much to discuss."

"You said Dahlia is alive, what makes you so certain?"

"After I died, I ended up on the Otherside," Esther began, her tone grave. "It's a purgatory of sorts for supernatural's: channelers, werewolves, vampires, and other created species. My sister should have ended up there when she died, but she never did."

"If that's your only reason—" Elijah started to interject.

"It's not," Esther cut him off. "I waited for my sister to arrive on the Otherside. When more time had passed than she could possibly have lived, I went looking. You can watch this world from there—not always, not everything, but enough. It took me a long time, but eventually, I found her. She had found a way to make them immortal without losing their magic."

"Them?" Pearl asked, leaning forward an intense look on her face.

"Yes, Freya is alive as well," Esther revealed, her eyes flicking between Elijah and Pearl, gauging their reactions.

Pearl looked satisfied, like a cat who'd got the cream. Elijah's face remained stoic, but his mind was racing.

"Do you know how this immortality of theirs works?"

"I don't know all the specifics of the spell, but I know they must enter a sort of sleep for some amount of time in between periods of wakefulness. I have seen them in both states, but I do not know how long either one lasts."

Elijah's eyes narrowed.

"Why hasn't she come for Maya yet? You said she came for Freya when she was five, so why didn't she take Maya at the same age?"

It was a horrifying thought, that Dahlia could have taken Maya and none of them would have been any the wiser, because they hadn't even known Maya existed at that age. He wondered, if that had happened, would they ever have found out?

"I only caught a few glimpses of my sister as Maya was growing up, but she was caught in a sleep state every time I did see her," Esther explained, her voice tinged with regret.

"So, when she wakes?" Elijah asked, his worry deepening.

Esther nodded solemnly.

"Once Dahlia wakes, she will come for Maya."

"You caught glimpses of her," Pearl said, leaning forward, "Do you know where she is? It would be better to deal with her while she sleeps, surely?"

"No. There were no defining features of the place where she is caught in sleep. A room with no windows and barely any light," Esther replied, her frustration evident.

"What about a locator spell?" Elijah pressed. "Could we find her that way?"

Esther shook her head.

"I have tried. She is guarded by powerful warding magic. It is likely Dahlia chooses the same location to sleep each time she does so, guarded by centuries' worth of magic, spells, and rituals. Such magic would be nearly impossible to get past, and even if we succeeded, I have no doubt there is a failsafe that would awaken her should anyone breach the magic that protects her location."

Elijah frowned, his mind racing with the implications.

"So, we are essentially blind. We have no idea where Dahlia is. If she is still asleep, or when she will come for Maya."

"Our best source of information, will be Freya." Esther countered, "I just need to find her."

Rebekah knew Elijah had gone to speak to their mother today, and she was glad he had taken that task upon himself. She was by no means ready to face the woman—not after everything she had learned. Elijah had always been able to compartmentalize the best out of all of them. Sometimes she even envied him for that. But she wasn't sure how he'd been able to compartmentalize this, especially after only a few days.

She stood by the window, staring out at the sprawling gardens of the Salvatores' estate, the vibrant flowers and meticulously trimmed hedges doing little to soothe her troubled mind. She was waiting for everyone to arrive for the family meeting Elijah had called. A hundred years ago, such a meeting would have consisted of just four of them: herself, Nik, Elijah, and Marcel. They had lost Marcel, but in the past six months their family had grown exponentially from what it once was. It was a good thing, and not just because they had more people to help protect Maya, but because they were happy now—her siblings and herself.

"Rebekah?"

She looked over her shoulder to see Bonnie standing in the doorway. It was the first time she'd seen her since she'd killed Elena. Caroline might not hold it against her, but she still had no idea if Bonnie felt the same way. Bonnie hesitated for a moment in the doorway before stepping inside and closing the door behind her, giving them at least the illusion of privacy.

"Elena was one of my best friends," Bonnie began, and Rebekah felt her heart drop; it didn't sound good. "Caroline is the other."

A silence grew between them as Bonnie seemed to struggle with what to say next. Rebekah didn't dare to say anything. She wasn't sure where Bonnie was going with this or if Bonnie even knew herself, and she didn't want to send this conversation tipping in the wrong direction if she said the wrong thing.

"I don't know why Elena made the decisions she did. If you'd asked me a year ago if she could do something like that, I wouldn't have hesitated to tell you no." Bonnie paused again, looking down at the floor for a moment before bringing her gaze up and meeting Rebekah's. "I guess what I really want to say is thank you for saving Caroline because I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost both my best friends."

She didn't say it out loud, but Rebekah didn't need her to. If Elena had lived and Caroline had died, Bonnie would have lost them both, because she wouldn't have been able to forgive Elena for being an accessory in Caroline's death.

"And the reason I'm saying all this," Bonnie finished, "is because I need you to know that I don't blame you for doing what you needed to do, and I'd really like it if we could still be friends."

Rebekah smiled, as some of the tension she'd been holding eased out of her.

"I'd like that too."

Almost the second the words left her mouth, the door Bonnie had closed was flung open, and Caroline entered, looking smug. She had an air of triumph about her, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction.

"I told you!"

At first, Rebekah thought those words were directed at herself or at Bonnie, until Tyler followed Caroline into the room, pulling some money out of his pocket and handing it over with an irritated frown as he did so.

"You were betting on us?" Rebekah asked, her voice a mix of surprise and amusement.

"On Bonnie," Caroline corrected Rebekah, "Well, technically Tyler made the bet, and I just took him up on it because I knew he was wrong."

"Yeah, well, neither of you had given any indication in the past that you knew what Elena was really like, so excuse me for thinking you'd both be angry about what happened," Tyler muttered, clearly unhappy about losing the bet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bonnie asked, frowning at Tyler, who squirmed uncomfortably under her angry gaze.

"Let's just say Elena was good at making people see her a particular way, and leave it at that," Tyler replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Rebekah wasn't surprised by his words; she had known three doppelgangers, and to call them manipulative was an understatement. It didn't shock her that someone else had seen that about Elena. Tatia had been the same, and Katerina too, though from all accounts at least Katerina was honest about it. She owned her nature, which was a refreshing change from the fakeness of Tatia and Elena.

That Bonnie and Caroline hadn't seen it, or hadn't wanted to see it, wasn't a mark against them. Very few were able to see through the masks that a Petrova Doppelganger wore. That Tyler saw the truth of Elena, meant he was either very astute, or Elena hadn't cared enough to pretend in front of him, for whatever reason. Rebekah was leaning towards the latter, not that Tyler wasn't smart, but even smart people could be fooled by the likes of the Petrova's.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, Caroline jumped in.

"Look, Tyler clearly knew a different Elena to us, there's no need to make a big deal about it. Elena's left town and we're all agreed that Rebekah made the right decision, yeah?"

Tyler and Bonnie both nodded.

"Good, so we can put it behind us and move on as friends." Caroline continued with an open and honest smile, "Friends who are gonna have each other's backs through whatever this newest crisis is."

Rebekah smiled. Their family might be bigger than it used to be, but the one thing that hadn't changed was that every member was willing to fight for them.

"Speaking of, we should probably join the others or that crisis will be Elijah's disappointment in our punctuality."

Klaus paced up and down in front of the fireplace. Elijah had chosen to play the part of liaison with Esther, a good thing as he wasn't sure he could stop himself from killing her a second time, but he wasn't a fan of waiting to find out what she had said. His brother had decided to wait until everyone had arrived before telling them anything, which was infuriating – his daughter was the one at risk and he needed to know how to protect her.

Not that Maya seemed particularly bothered by the news that Dahlia intended to come for her. In fact, out of all of them who knew so far, she seemed the least affected by it. She didn't seem particularly hurt or sad to discover her grandmother had bargained her away, and he wasn't sure if that was because she was hiding it, or if her not really knowing Esther lessened the sense of betrayal. Nor did she seem particularly frightened by the notion of Dahlia making her a slave, either because she was confident in their ability to protect her – as she should be – or because she had been threatened so many times in so many different ways that she had become inured to it – infuriating in its own right if such was the case.

The door to the drawing room opened, and Rebekah led the rest of the group in. Klaus stopped his pacing and fixed Elijah with a sharp look.

"Now that everyone has finally arrived," he cast an irritated glance towards his sister, before returning his gaze to Elijah, "perhaps you might finally enlighten us on your discussion with Esther."

Elijah nodded but waited for everyone to find a seat or settle in some way, before he began to explain the situation. It was brief and to the point, preferable over the rambling story of woe that Esther had chosen when explain what she had done, but not something he needed to hear again, so it wasn't until Elijah got to his discussion with Esther earlier that day, that Klaus truly began to pay attention again.

"… Mother confirmed Dahlia is still alive, Freya also, some form of immortality that enables them to keep their magic, she was unable to tell us much about how it was possible." With these words Elijah's gaze swept across the witches in the room, finally landing on Aradia and Kol.

"I was born immortal," Aradia answered the unasked question in Elijah's eyes. "I had no need to seek it out, but over the years I have learnt of several different methods others have attempted in order to attain immortality. Not all of them successful, and of those that are, they all incur a heavy cost. The only one I know of that allows the user to maintain their magical abilities is Horcruxes, though I do not believe that could be the method she used."

Aradia's eyes flickered to Maya, touching on the scar upon her forehead and Klaus was tempted to curse at her for bringing such things up in front of his daughter. She was quick to return her gaze back to Elijah and in turn he resisted his urges.

"Did Esther say anything specific she had noticed when she watched from the Otherside?"

"Mother said that she believes Dahlia's spell requires them requires them to enter a sleep state periodically, and that it makes them invulnerable to harm."

"Not Horcruxes then?" Maya piped up, her eyes locked onto Aradia's with a hint of vulnerability, "Voldemort wasn't invulnerable to harm, his body disintegrated when his spell backfired and hit him."

"Not Horcruxes," Aradia agreed a soft smile on her face.

Maya sunk back into the beanbag she was curled up on as the tension seeped out of her body. Klaus met Damon's eyes seeing the same concern in them that he felt, this was a sensitive subject for Maya and both of them would prefer for the conversation to move on.

"Sorry, what are Horcruxes?" Bonnie asked. "And why can't they be what she used?"

Klaus turned his glare onto her, even as everyone else's attention remained fixed on Aradia, who fortunately brought a swift end to that line of questioning.

"It's an abhorrent magic, the darkest of arts, and I will not speak of it, not even to explain it." Aradia replied, disgust edging her tone, "It is enough to say that it is not the method Dahlia used and move on. What else did Esther have to say on the matter?"

"Freya and Dahlia separated a few centuries ago, how many exactly she is not sure. Mother is of the opinion Freya ran away and seeks still to escape from Dahlia, she believes if we can find Freya, then our sister will help us fight Dahlia. She will need help with a spell to find our sister however."

Klaus wasn't sure he'd heard Elijah correctly, surely his brother wasn't really going along with such an insane plan. He felt a surge of anger and disbelief rising within him.

"Have you lost your mind!?" Klaus snapped, his voice echoing off the walls. "You think we can just trust Freya after all this time? She could be just as dangerous as Dahlia!"

"Niklaus is correct." Aradia interjected, surprising him and mostly everyone else in the room – they didn't usually agree on things – but he welcomed her support. "I can understand why you would want to find your sister after so many years. But Dahlia raised her, if they are separated, which is not confirmed, there could be many reasons for that, not just that Freya ran away. You cannot blindly assume that their interests are not aligned."

Finn looked desperate to speak, but at a gesture from Elijah, he held his tongue settling back into his chair and stewing in silence. Klaus would understand if he was the one proposing this plan, blinded by the sentiment of the years he'd spent as a child with Freya. He did not understand Elijah's agreement with their mother's suggestion though, Elijah was usually the more pragmatic one, he would have expected cynicism from him, not whatever mawkishness was guiding his current decisions.

"I understand your concerns and believe me when I say I share them –"

Klaus narrowed his eyes; Elijah was sincere in his words. However, he could hear the 'but' coming from a mile away, for whatever reason, despite whatever concerns he had, Elijah had been swayed by their mother's words and chosen to follow her path. Now he was attempting to ensure the rest of them did the same.

"– But our options are limited. We do not know the spell Dahlia used to ensure their immortality. We do not know the weaknesses of the spell, or how to kill Dahlia. We have to at least consider the possibility that Freya may be an ally, especially as she may be the only person in the world, other than Dahlia herself, who can tell us how to kill our aunt and end the threat she poses to Maya."

Before Klaus, Finn, or anyone else could interject, Elijah raised a hand to silence them, his expression one of calm determination.

"I am not suggesting that we proceed without caution, or blindly trust that Freya's interests will align with our own. However, I am suggesting that following mother's plan allows us to gather more information – necessary information. If we want to end Dahlia, then we need to help mother find Freya."

"Elijah's not wrong."

If it had been Finn or Rebekah who spoke, Klaus could have waved it away, those two were always more sentimental and trusting than the rest of them. He didn't doubt for a second that parts of them had already forgiven their mother, even if they hadn't admitted it to themselves yet.

Kol was the one who'd spoken though, and that couldn't be waved away. Their youngest brother was the most untrusting of the whole family, even more so than he himself was. Plus, Kol had hated their mother even before he'd found out about Dahlia, this latest information had merely cemented that hatred. Klaus did not doubt that Kol would never forgive Esther for the decisions she'd made, so if he was in agreement with Elijah on following Esther's plan, then that meant more to him than anything any of the others could have said.

"Not being wrong, isn't the same as being right." Maya said with a frown, which drew a small grin from Kol.

Klaus lips twisted into a self-deprecating grin of his own, he hadn't caught that, but he couldn't deny being proud that his daughter had.

"Right you are, witchling."

Maya grinned back at him, and the anger that had been present in Kol's eyes for the last few days diminished.

"Like I said, Elijah's not wrong. Freya is the best source of information on Dahlia other than our aunt, and we shouldn't blindly trust someone we don't know."

"If you believe I was right about that, then what exactly do you object to about my plan, Kol?"

"The helping mother part."

"We've had this discussion. You agreed –"

"I agreed that I would not kill mother as we may need her help if we wish to protect Maya."

"Then what precisely is your issue?"

"Think about it, Elijah. We are all furious at Esther for what she did to us a thousand years ago. How do you think the child she let Dahlia take and raise feels?" Kol shook his head, "We should find Freya, find out what she knows and how she can help, but mother shouldn't be the one to do it."

Elijah inclined his head as he conceded that Kol had a point.

"Esther may be useful in helping us locate Freya." Kol continued, "but when we approach her, we should do so without involving her directly."

Klaus glanced around the room, everyone else was sitting back for now allowing him and his siblings to come to an agreement on this. That Kol agreed with the plan, swayed his own feelings on the matter, however grudgingly. Despite his initial anger and scepticism, he couldn't deny that it was the only plan they had right now.

Finn finally spoke up, his voice tinged with desperation.

"I knew Freya. Let me be the one to approach her. I can explain everything, and perhaps she will listen to me."

"Not alone." Klaus stated uncompromisingly, "you're too blinded by your love for the sister you remember to treat her with the necessary caution."

"I'll go as well," Rebekah offered.

"No."

Klaus was pleased when both Kol and Elijah echoed his instant denial with their own.

"And why not?" Rebekah demanded, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"Because, Rebekah," Elijah said gently but firmly, "you, too, are influenced by your emotions. You want to believe in Freya, just as Finn does. We need someone who can approach this with a clear head and without the weight of past feelings."

Kol nodded.

"Exactly. We need someone who can assess the situation objectively."

Rebekah crossed her arms, frustration evident on her face.

"So, who do you suggest?"

Klaus looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

"I'll go with Finn. I won't allow sentiment to manipulate me into trusting someone who cannot be trusted."

"You're not going either, Niklaus," Elijah interjected firmly.

"Yeah, you're the opposite of Rebekah and Finn, Nik. So paranoid and untrusting that you'll drive her away even if it turns out we can rely on her to help us," Kol added.

Klaus gritted his teeth in annoyance at both Elijah and Kol, though he couldn't really deny the truth of their words. He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.

"I should go," Kol declared. "I can be relied on to be objective."

"As can I," Elijah replied.

"Ah, but I can also be relied upon to understand the magic we will inevitably end up discussing, which means I'll be able to tell whether Freya is lying or not," Kol countered with a smirk.

Elijah considered Kol's point, then nodded.

"Very well. Once we've found Freya, Finn and Kol will be the ones to approach her."

Caroline awkwardly raised her hand in the air, like a child waiting for the teacher to call upon her, frowning at Tyler who had instantly started laughing at her.

"Umm. I just – if Dahlia's still asleep, wouldn't your sister also be asleep? So, like, would finding her really help?"

It was a good point, and her question instantly opened the floodgates, as those who'd been silent up till now began to throw out questions and suggestions. The loudest of all being his daughter who asked the question he'd been dreading since Elijah mentioned the whole sleeping thing.

"If she's asleep, then that means she's not a threat to me right now, right? So does that mean I can still go on the Washington trip?"