Elena was getting antsy. She and her family had been living on edge for a while now. She was glad that she'd decided to have Elijah and Klaus find them somewhere else to live. Klaus was actually renovating a place for them. He expected it to be ready within a couple of weeks. However, the Salvatores were only part of the problem. They were a nuisance that Elena was ready to be rid of, but she could handle them. Esther was the real problem.

Elena knew Esther was up to something nefarious. They all did, really. Even Finn didn't trust her. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything without tipping her off. Just waiting to see what she did wasn't a good plan either though. Elena wanted to find out what she was up to. She spent most of her day in her room looking at her grimoire. Elena would love the opportunity to get a look at what she was doing, but she couldn't get caught. She needed Esther distracted. Fortunately, she knew the perfect sibling to help her do that.

Elena knocked lightly on Kol's door. When he opened it, she pressed a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. She then motioned for him to follow her.

Kol was intrigued when his youngest sister appeared at his door. He followed her without question to her bedroom and shut the door once they were both inside.

Elena turned the stereo up fairly loudly. If they spoke quietly, they should be able to avoid vampire hearing.

"You have my attention, sister," Kol said with a grin.

"I need your help. I want to get into your mother's room without her knowing. I want to see what she's been up to," Elena said.

"Still don't trust her, huh? Good. I don't think any of us do, even Finn. That there is a red flag. Getting into her room won't be easy. She barely leaves it, and if you go missing when she does, she'll probably notice," Kol said.

"That's why I need your help. I need a distraction and I figured you were the best person to help me with that," Elena said.

Kol grinned mischievously. "I see you've been talking to our siblings. I love a good distraction, but what exactly are we talking about here? Do you want me to just keep her busy for a few minutes or can I have fun?"

"Go nuts. I need as much time as I can get," Elena said.

Kol gave her a dumbfounded look. No one had ever given him blanket permission to do whatever he wanted. They usually knew better. "I can do whatever I want?"

"Don't blow the house up? We still need a place to live for a couple more weeks," Elena said.

"That's it? That's my only boundary?" Kol asked in a giddy tone. He was like a toddler on Christmas morning.

Elena smirked. Not only could she get what she needed, but she could annoy the hell out of her siblings by letting Kol loose. She'd never had that opportunity before, so she looked forward to it. "Do your worst, Kol?"

"Elena, you just became my favorite person in the whole world. Give me a couple of hours. You'll know you're good to go when you hear the screams," Kol said with a grin before practically skipping out of the room.

Elena had a feeling her family wasn't going to be happy with her once this was over, but she merely shrugged. As long as she got what she needed, it would be worth it.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Elijah was walking with his father not far from the property. Mikael had asked to speak with him in private, which meant leaving the house. He was reluctant to do so given his father's history, but he decided that he should start giving his father a chance. What had happened wasn't his fault. It was just hard to set aside centuries of abuse and torment. "What is it you wish to discuss?"

"Can I assume your position on your mother hasn't changed?" Mikael asked.

"No. I do not trust her. I have done my best to make sure she is not alone with the others, especially Elena and Niklaus," Elijah said. His mother was a danger to all of them, but he believed she was more of a danger to Elena and Niklaus. Elena wasn't hers, and was something she'd consider an abomination, and Niklaus had tried to kill her. Elijah didn't buy her supposed forgiveness.

"Yes, I've been doing the same. I will not allow this situation to go on much longer. I want her away from all of you," Mikael said.

"Your hatred of her seems to have deepened over the past few days? Why is that?" Elijah asked.

"I would rather not say just yet. I don't want one of you accidentally tipping her off, however, suffice it to say, I was given proof of her disregard for her children. I am going to stop her," Mikael said.

"How?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know yet, but I need to be sure you are all safe before I do anything. You were prepared to take your siblings and leave to keep them safe from me. I need to know that you're still prepared to do that should I ask you to," Mikael said.

"Against their will. I told Elena I would make a conscious effort not to try to force her again," Elijah said.

"I understand, but your mother is a dangerous threat, especially to Elena. I need to be sure that you are all safe. It would be a last resort, but I need you to do this. I am sorry, Elijah. I know that much has been put on you as it is regarding your siblings."

"Protecting my siblings is not a burden for me. I will do it for the rest of eternity. I'll do as you ask if it is necessary, although I would prefer not to. I must admit that I have considered the possibility that it may be necessary in the future. I have considered that since Mother returned," Elijah said.

"Good. We can head back now," Mikael said before they turned back to go back to the house. "Elijah, I know that I've done much damage to you and your siblings, but I hope we can get to a place where you can trust me again."

"I've never trusted you. I do not mean that out of malice. It is simply a fact. I don't know you, and trust in the unknown is difficult, especially when my siblings are involved," Elijah said.

"There was a time when you trusted me. You were just too young to remember. You constantly wished to be around me. Your statement is fair though. You don't know me. I hope that you will give me a chance to show you the real me. I know it will take time, but maybe one day you can even trust me," Mikael said.

"Maybe," was all Elijah said. He didn't see that happening anytime soon, but it was no longer as impossible as he once believed.

Mikael nodded. "That was better than he could've hoped for a couple of weeks ago. He would take it.

Elijah stopped walking as soon as they stepped back on the property. He was immediately hit with the odor of something burning. "Do you smell smoke?"

Before Mikael could answer, he heard a scream that sounded like it was coming from the elder Salvatore. He turned to Elijah and they both spoke at the same time, both figuring out exactly who was responsible for whatever was going on. "Kol."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Elena smelled her brother's distraction before she heard Damon scream. She had to wonder if Kol actually set him on fire. Frankly, that was something she wanted to see for herself if it was true, but that would defeat the purpose of the distraction in the first place. She waited a few moments to make sure everyone else was headed towards Kol before heading to Esther's room. She could hear Esther yelling at Kol before she even got inside.

Once inside, Elena headed to Esther's grimoire, which was stationed on the table a few feet from the bed. "Let's see what the hell you're up to, you crazy old hag."

The book was opened to some sort of linking spell. Elena skimmed it to see that it would link blood relatives together, and anything that happened to one family member would happen to the rest. It required doppelganger blood. It didn't take Elena long to figure out the plan, assuming it would even work with her blood since she wasn't human. Esther could use this spell to kill her husband and children, maybe even Elena too.

Elena took out her phone and snapped a picture of the spell. She could examine it more later to figure out how to stop it, assuming Esther planned to use it. She then explored the book some more. She could still hear the commotion outside, so she had a little more time. It took her a minute or two, but she found another spell that interested her, or disturbed her, was the better word for it. It was meant to incite rage. It required the blood of the individual the witch was cursing and the blood of person the person that would be the object of his rage.

Elena felt fury build up inside her. To her, this was proof that Esther was the one that cursed Mikael. She cursed him to hate Klaus, and eventually, it had spilled out onto his other children as well. Elena took a picture of that spell too in order to show it to Mikael. He deserved to see the spell that turned him into a monster.

Elena kept looking. She saw a couple of other spells that she knew Esther used, like the spell to curse Klaus, which disgusted her. Finally, she came across a spell that might be useful to her, one that might stop Esther. They would need a witch, but they could figure that out later. She quickly took a picture and then returned the book back to the page it was on before she entered the room. She then slipped out of the room.

As she went back to her room, Elena could hear Elijah lecturing Kol.

"You could've burned the house down," Elijah said.

"I wasn't going to burn the house down. Just a Salvatore," Kol said.

"That would've been no great loss," Klaus said.

"Are you kidding me? Your brother's a psycho!" Damon yelled.

Elena smirked and made it back to her bedroom without anyone noticing she'd left.