Elena was sitting next to Rebekah on the plane. She was quite irritated. Not only did she just have to deal with Finn and flee the country with the rest of her family, but he also ruined her date with a nice guy. It wasn't like she was in love with Sean or anything, and she knew it wasn't going to lead to anything serious, but it was nice to do something normal for once. It was the most normal thing she'd done since she met Stefan. Finn had to go and ruin it.

"Are you alright, Elena? Finn didn't hurt you or anything, did he?" Elijah asked. He hadn't had time to ask her anything before. They'd had to leave in a hurry. Now that they were in the air, he could find out exactly what happened.

"Only if you consider annoying me a form of harm. He was about ready to grab me and run out, but I was smarter than him," Elena said. It was more like he had no way of knowing she was a witch and was taken by surprise. No one knew that. She made sure of it. She was actually lucky that it worked. She didn't really have much control. She had practiced the telekinesis a little just to make sure she didn't accidently use it in public or around her siblings, but she still wasn't good at it. She didn't want to be good at it. She had nothing against witches, but she didn't want to be anything like Esther. This was just a connection to her that Elena didn't want. She feared that if she allowed herself to accept the magic, she'd end up abusing it just as Esther did.

"How did he find you?" Kol wondered.

"Oh, that's the best part," Elena said sarcastically. "He didn't. It was my own horrible luck. I happened to walk into the same pub he was drinking in. He knew we were in Ireland, but not that I would be in that bar."

"Then perhaps it was actually good luck. He found you in a public place, where it was easier for you to get away from him. It would've been worse if he had come to the house or found you somewhere else private," Elijah reasoned. He then smiled at his youngest sister. "I am sorry that he ruined your date though."

"What?!" both Klaus and Kol asked in outraged tones.

Elena stared at Elijah in disbelief. "How? How do you figure these things out? If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you have ESP!"

Elijah smirked. "I have my ways, little one. In this case, a bouquet of flowers arrived for you just after you left. I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to see them."

Elena could almost kick herself. She should've considered that. She should've told Sean no gestures like that. That might have gotten him killed if Finn hadn't shown up.

"You lied to us. You two told us you were having drinks together," Klaus said as he pointed to Elena and Rebekah in accusatory way.

"No, we didn't. We said we were having drinks. We never said it was together," Rebekah said with a smirk.

"You know, a gentleman would've picked you up at your home and met your family," Elijah said disapprovingly.

"And that would've gotten a gentleman killed," Elena retorted before looking at Nik. The others might have killed him too, but Nik definitely would've. She knew all about the things he did to Rebekah's boyfriends.

Klaus grinned. "You know me well, sweetheart. Thank you. I take it as a compliment."

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. The date got ruined, and I'll never see that guy again," Elena said.

"Huh. Finn is good for something," Klaus mused.

Elena picked up a pillow and chucked it at her brother's head. Much to her irritation, he caught it and smirked at her. "Anyone figure out where we're going yet?"

"Yes, I was thinking that since Mother and Finn are now on this side of the world, we should return to the other side. In fact, I was thinking that perhaps we could return home," Elijah said.

"You can't seriously be thinking we should go back to Mystic Falls," Elena said. She'd love nothing more than to see the rest of her loved ones again, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to return to Mystic Falls permanently, but it wasn't safe. It would far to easy for them to be caught.

"Oh, no. I apologize, Elena. I was referring to the first place we all considered home after being forced to flee from Father. New Orleans," Elijah said.

"Is that really a good idea? Returning to a place we've been before?" Rebekah asked.

"Actually, I think it might be the perfect place to go. I don't believe Mother would expect it, since we were run out of there once," Elijah reasoned.

"New Orleans sounds cool. I've always wanted to see it," Elena said.

"It seems that it's settled then. We'll have to be careful though. We can't allow ourselves to get complacent again. We have to keep a low profile," Elijah said, looking at Niklaus as he did. He knew it would be all too tempting for his brother to want to take over the city again. That couldn't happen this time. It was probably partially how their father found them last time. It was all the more easy for someone to be tracked in this day and age. They had to be careful.

"No taking control of the supernatural factions then?" Kol asked.

"Supernatural factions?" Elena asked.

"Yes, New Orleans seems to attract the supernatural," Rebekah said.

"Like Mystic Falls?" she asked.

Klaus laughed. "No, sister. Mystic Falls is nothing compared to New Orleans. Vampires, witches, and werewolves all have taken up residence there. We used to rule them all. We were their kings."

"Not this time. If we do this, we need to agree to keep a low profile. We cannot attract that kind of attention," Elijah said.

"Fine, agreed. I'll let the pilot know where we're going," Klaus said before getting up.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Finn was standing with his mother in the living room of the apartment they were staying in while in Ireland. "I'm sorry, Mother. I thought I had her. I didn't realize that Elena had tapped into her witch powers. It took me by surprise. She's not in her original body, so I figured it wouldn't happen."

"It was always a possibility. Unlike the werewolf gene, witchcraft is body and soul. That's why some witches are able to use their magic even on the Other Side," Esther told him.

"But wouldn't it have happened by now?" Finn asked. He, Freya, and Kol had all developed their magic as children. Of course, the others hadn't, but he just assumed that was because they hadn't developed an affinity for it. Not all those born to witches became witches themselves. Of course, he also knew that some witch bloodlines didn't present themselves until the witch was older, but in their family, it tended to happen in childhood.

"That could quite possibly be because she isn't in her own body," Esther said.

"I'm sorry, Mother. She played me, again," Finn said irritably. It infuriated him how this girl seemed to keep outwitting him. Of course, he knew it was his fault too. He kept underestimating her.

"It's alright, darling. You couldn't have predicted that Elena would go that far. It was very irresponsible for her to use magic in public. More evidence that she needs to by under my guidance," Esther said.

"To be fair, she knew I'd compel everyone. I can try to find them again. It hasn't been that long," Finn said.

"There's no point. It has been more than an hour. They're gone. Your siblings are smart enough to know to leave immediately," Esther said. She knew how smart her children were. She had been furious to learn that they had played her for months and planned on disappearing, but she also couldn't help but admire their cunning. Not many would be able to do what they did. Not many would be able to lie to her face successfully and gain her trust, and they'd done well for months. They had even succeeding getting her to doubt Finn. Although, that was partially his fault to. No one had made him lie to her. "Don't fret, Finn. We will find them again."

Finn nodded. He knew that she was right about them being smart enough to leave. He'd been with them for the first century while they were running. "Now that they've been caught, they'll be more careful. They've done this before. We all have when Father was after us. They've made an art out of it. It might not be so easy to find them again,"

"Well, if it comes down to it, I have an idea of how to find them, and to keep your siblings in line when I do find them," Esther said. It was a plan she was reluctant to implement right now, but she'd do it if her children continued to defy her.

"What is it?" Finn wondered.

"All in good time, darling. I'm not sure it will even be necessary, so there's no use discussing it now," Esther said. She wasn't' prepared to tell him until she was sure she would need to go through with it. This plan could very well test even Finn's loyalty. She also had to make sure she could pull it off. It wasn't that she thought she couldn't do it. She was as strong as ever. She'd found a way to strengthen her body months ago, so that she no longer had to rely on power from the Bennett line. Her magic was as strong as it ever was. However, this plan had a lot of variables that she might not be able to control. She needed to figure those things out first. She would do it if necessary though. She would not allow her children to continue to defy her.