Elena walked out onto the porch to find Klaus sitting there on a bench quietly. She debated with herself for a minute before taking a seat next to him. She didn't say anything. She just sat with him and waited to see if he'd talk to her. To her knowledge, he hadn't spoken to anyone since the truth about Mikael was proven to him.

It was a while before Klaus said anything, but he finally did. "Come to gloat?"

"I don't take any kind of pleasure from this situation, Klaus," Elena told him.

"Why not? You were right," Klaus said.

"So what? It's nothing to be proud of. You're still hurting. You all are. Being right about Mikael doesn't change what happened to you. I wanted you to know the truth, but I had no delusions that it would somehow fix everything. Nothing is fixed," Elena said.

Klaus snorted. "I'd say that's an understatement, love. I still hate him. I don't know how not to."

"I know," Elena said. Feelings like that couldn't just be turned off, neither could the memories Klaus had of Mikael abusing him. The fact that Mikael wasn't a willing participant didn't change anything.

"Yes, I suppose you would know. After all, you hate me just as much," Klaus said. He couldn't even blame her for that. He'd done a lot of damage to her. He wouldn't have done it if he'd known she was his sister, but he didn't expect that to matter to her.

"To an extent, yes, I do hate you. You destroyed my life, and you didn't have to. I walked willingly with you to that sacrifice. The only thing I wanted in return was for my friends and family to be safe. Instead, you killed my aunt in front of me, and I know why you did it. Because Damon released Caroline. It was payback. You could've used anybody you wanted, but you used Jenna because you knew that would hurt me the most. And I don't know if I'll ever forgive you for that," Elena said with anger and pain laced in her voice.

Klaus didn't deny her accusations. He couldn't. It was the truth. He had done it to punish her. He didn't like being crossed. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but I am sorry."

"And then you forced Stefan to go with you," Elena said, ignoring his last statement.

"That wasn't about you. I thought you were dead, remember?" Klaus asked.

"It doesn't matter. I loved him and you took him from me," Elena said.

"The person you loved didn't exist. I'm sorry, but that's a fact, Elena. I offer proof in the way he's acted since the truth about you came out. He didn't love you. He loved the idea of you. He loved who he thought he could turn you into. I loved this malleable young girl that would turn to him at the sight of danger, that would let her walk all over him. And the fact that you let him is proof that he was not the man for you. I've watched you. You are not what you allowed him to make you. You're strong. You're a Mikaelson. You took charge to get our siblings back. You stood up to my mother and called her out for her sins. You are far too good for the likes of either Salvatore," Klaus said.

"Maybe you're right, but it doesn't make what you did okay," Elena said. She knew that he was right. She did let Stefan get away with a lot with her. Maybe it was because she felt inferior as a human dating a vampire. Maybe it was simply because he'd caught her at a vulnerable time. She didn't know the reason, but she let Stefan take the reins in their relationship far too often. It didn't change the cruelty of Klaus' actions though.

"I never claimed it did, sister, but I didn't destroy your relationship, Stefan did. He did so the moment he couldn't accept you as you are," Klaus said.

"Fair enough," Elena finally said. "I know you're not to blame for the things Stefan has done lately. Those things are on him, and I won't forgive him for them. I won't forgive any of them."

"Good. They're not worthy of your forgiveness any more than I am," Klaus said.

"You're not the same as them. You've done just as bad, if not worse than they have, but you're my brother, and you've at least admitted you were wrong. So, I have to try to figure out a way to forgive you, or at least stop hating you. I don't completely hate you. I stepped in front of a stake to protect you, and I would do it again, so I obviously feel something for you other than hatred. All I can do is try to focus on that," Elena said.

"Thank you," he said.

"Now we need to figure out what to do next. Our problems haven't gone away. If anything, they've gotten bigger," Elena said.

Klaus chuckled. "I assume you're speaking of my mother. What's the problem, love? Not buying her spiel about wanting to be a big, happy family? If that's the case, you're not as naïve as I thought."

"You don't buy it either then? I'm not sure any of us do," Elena said.

"Finn might. He's always been her biggest supporter. Although, even he questioned her last night," Klaus commented.

"I don't believe her, Klaus. I think it was her that cursed Mikael," Elena said quietly, just in case Esther was nearby listening.

"So do I. And if it was Ayana, I believe it was at Mother's behest. Ayana had nothing to gain. Mother did," Klaus said bitterly.

"Then we have to protect ourselves, both from her and the Salvatore's," she said.

Klaus chuckled. "Yes, it is past time those two were dealt with. I heard something about you slashing tires and slipping vervain in the bourbon. Well played. I'm sure Kol has never been prouder."

"He may have mentioned something. I'm not done. They crossed the line. It's time for the gloves to come off," Elena said coldly. She didn't mean just the Salvatore's either. Bonnie needed to be taught a lesson too. Bringing Esther back was the final straw. She was going to teach them all not to come after her family again.

Klaus slowly began to smile. "I wondered what it would take to move you out of your non-violent stance. You were insistent on them not being harmed, even when they kidnapped our brothers."

"Because I knew it wouldn't do any good. I knew they wouldn't give up the information. But they have no more leverage. It's time to make a point," Elena said.

"And what do you have in mind?" Klaus wondered.

"I'm not sure yet, but you'll have a front row seat when it happens," Elena said with a smirk before getting up and heading back inside.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Esther was in her room reviewing the contents of her grimoire to find a way to deal with her family. She'd made a plan on the Other Side for when she was eventually brought back, but she was not certain that would work any longer. The origins of Elena Gilbert changed everything. It had been a complete shock to her to learn that Elena was Mikael's. She did not believe vampires could conceive children. She was still fairly certain most couldn't. Perhaps it was even only Mikael. It created a problem either way. The spell she'd intended to use required doppelganger blood, but she was not certain it would work with a doppelganger that was not human, and even if it did, Elena didn't trust her enough to let her near her. Most of her family didn't. The only one she might have a chance with was Finn.

Elena herself was another problem that needed to be handled. Mikael and their children were already abominations that needed to be stopped. That made Elena even more than one. She needed to be neutralized as well, but Esther didn't know how. If Elena were to die, assuming she could be killed, she'd return as a vampire, possibly an Original vampire. That would make her even more unstoppable than she was now. It would make it even worse that she did not have a sire line. She couldn't be killed that way like the rest of the vampires could. Her husband had created something nearly unstoppable when he conceived her. Esther couldn't deny the fact that she was slightly frightened of the girl.

Esther didn't know what she was going to do, but she did know that she was going to have to bide her time. She needed to get her family to trust her before she did anything else. At the very least, she needed Finn's trust and support. Normally, she wouldn't worry about that. She would simply use his time daggered to get him to distrust his siblings. However, the presence of Mikael and Elena changed things. Not to mention that he didn't trust her the way he used to after finding out that she knew about Mikael's curse. Her desire to keep her children in line and to stop Niklaus from shifting by creating that curse might just be her undoing, ironically.

Esther sighed and shut the grimoire. She would figure this all out later. She had time. She simply needed to be patient. The situation would be resolved one way or another. She would destroy the monsters she and Mikael had created.