It wasn't difficult for Mikael to decide which of the Bennett witches to turn. He'd made his decision the moment Jeremy mentioned the younger Bennett attempting to give Elena an aneurism that had the potential to kill her had it worked. He might have chosen her mother otherwise, but he was thoroughly finished with allowing people to harm his children without consequence. The girl was going to pay, and once she and Esther were neutralized, he would handle the Salvatore idiots. Elena might be angry, but that was alright. His first responsibility was to keep her safe, even if she didn't like how he did it.
Finding Bonnie Bennett was easy enough. Getting her alone and unguarded was a bit harder. She spent most of her time in her home, where he didn't have an invite. He had to wait for her to leave, and he had to take her by surprise. She was still a which after all. She might not be as powerful as she seemed to think, but she was still powerful.
Mikael finally got his opportunity a little over an hour after he began watching the house. The girl followed her mother out of the house and walked her to her car. They spoke for about ten minutes before the older woman left. Mikael made his move then. He bit into his hand. He clamped it over her mouth and nose, ensuring he wouldn't be able to breath until she drank.
Bonnie struggled in the arms of someone holding her, or at least she tried. She could barely move. She couldn't use her magic because she couldn't speak or move her body. She could barely breath. She was forced to open her mouth and felt blood begin to pool into her mouth. It didn't take much for her to figure out what was happening. She tried not to swallow it, but the hand holding her wouldn't let go, and breathing was becoming more and more difficult. Before she knew it, the blood had made it's way down her throat.
When he was sure the girl had his blood in her system, he brought his other hand to her head and twisted it until he snapped her neck. She went limp in his arms. He picked her up and carried her away.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Mikael took the Bennett girl to the house Niklaus was renovating for the family. It wasn't over quite yet. He needed the girl to transition. He couldn't be sure if she would retain her magic if she died without transitioning. He knew she wouldn't have it while in transition, but he wasn't sure what would happen if she died without fully transitioning. He couldn't risk it, so he waited.
It took a couple of hours, but Bonnie suddenly gasped for air and jumped up. She looked around and found Mikael a few feet away.
"Welcome back, Ms. Bennett," Mikael said.
Bonnie was confused at first, but it didn't take long before she remembered what happened. He'd forced his blood down her throat. Then he must have killed her. "You… You turned me."
"Not quite yet. You still have to complete the transition. Don't worry, I can help you with that," Mikael said before reaching into a cooler by his feet and pulling out a pint of blood.
"Why?" Bonnie asked. Why would he do this to her? What could he possibly get out of turning her into a vampire?
Mikael stood up with the blood in his hand and laughed. "Why? Do I need another reason besides you using three of my sons as pawns in your twisted scheme to control my daughter? Did you truly think there would be no consequences for that?"
"I was trying to protect her from your twisted family!" Bonnie said scathingly. "But you already twisted her into another one of you!"
"You know nothing of my family, Ms. Bennett. As it turns out, I do have another reason though. My wife is drawing her power from your line. The only way for me to stop the threat she poses was to cut her off from that power. Of course, I did have a choice on who I could turn. I could've used your mother. I probably would've if not for the damage you've done to my children, particularly my daughter. Plus, I'd say it's poetic justice. You will become the very thing you judge my children for being. Perhaps you'll even learn a lesson. Although, I doubt you have the intellect for that. You can't see beyond your own ego," Mikael sneered.
Bonnie glared murderously at him. "Well, you waisted your time. I'm not completing the transition. I'd rather die than be like you!"
"I don't recall giving you that option, my dear," Mikael said before tossing the blood he was holding at her feet. "Drink, or I'll force it down your throat!"
Bonnie looked at the blood and then back at Mikael. "You can't."
Mikael chuckled. "Watch me. You don't have the magic you covet so much anymore. You're just a vampire in transition. I can do with you as I please. You will drink one way or another."
"Elena will hate you," Bonnie said in a panicked voice. It was the only thing she could think of to stop him at this point.
Mikael raised an eyebrow. "You have done nothing but attempt to control and manipulate my daughter since you found out what she was. You used her own family as weapons, yet you have the nerve to think you mean anything to her now? Well, as it turns out, you're not completely wrong. She will be upset because she's a compassionate young woman, and she wouldn't wish this being forced on anyone. However, she will understand that it was necessary to protect our family, and even if she doesn't, she will be safe. That is my only concern. Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"
Bonnie hesitated before picking up the blood bag. She could smell it before she even grabbed it, and it was only moments before she craved it. She ripped it open with her teeth and started sucking it dry. She hated this. She hated even more that she liked it. Once she was done, she glared at Mikael. "Are you happy?"
Mikael nodded in satisfaction. "You can find your way out whenever you're ready. One final warning though. Should you ever come after a member of my family again, your immortal life will be even shorter than your mortal one. Good night, Ms. Bennett," he said before leaving her there as he walked towards the door.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Elena sat in the living room with her siblings. Things were quiet, tense. None of them could think of sleeping. All Elena could think about was what would need to happen to stop Esther. She was trying to think of another way, but she was coming up empty, and they didn't have much time. Esther was planning their deaths.
"Are you alright, Elena," Elijah asked. He could see she was upset. She had been since they returned to the Boarding House. "You can speak somewhat freely. The Salvatores aren't home and Mother is in her room.
"We're going to have to turn one of them, aren't we?" Elena asked.
Elijah sighed. "I do not see away around it."
"We must do what is necessary to protect ourselves, Elena," Klaus said.
"I know that. I know we don't have a lot of options. If it becomes necessary, I will be on board, but I'll hate it. I don't like the idea of this choice being forced on anyone," Elena said.
"I don't either, but they started this," Jeremy said.
"I know," she said.
Just then, Esther burst into the room looking panicked. "What have you done?"
"What?" Kol asked confused. They had done nothing that he could recall. His last troublesome act was the fire last night, which his mother had thoroughly berated him for, not that he cared.
"You've done something to the Bennett witches! What did you do?" Esther demanded to know.
"What are you talking about? No one's done anything to them," Elena said.
Esther looked around. "Where is your father?"
Elijah frowned. That was a good question. His father had left hours ago and had not been back. In fact, it was peculiar that he would leave, now that he thought about it. They had just learned that their mother had cursed their father and that she wanted them all dead. It was strange that he would leave them in the house with her. He had been all about their protection.
Klaus smiled and chuckled. He'd figured it out. Their father had handled the problem behind their backs. It was exactly what he would've done. It was strange. This was the first time he wasn't ashamed of the fact that he and his father had something in common.
Mikael walked in at that moment and got a good look at Esther, who almost looked ill. "Hello, darling. You seem a little off."
Esther narrowed his eyes at him. "What did you do?"
"I've made sure that you will never be a threat to my children again," Mikael said.
Elijah stood up. "You turned one of the Bennetts."
"But you said we were waiting," Rebekah said.
"I lied. I didn't want any of you a part of it," Mikael said.
"You've been plotting this," Esther realized.
Klaus stood up and smirked at his mother. "Sort of like how you plotted all of our deaths. Then again, that's not the worst thing you've ever done to us. Tell us why? Why did you hate me so much that you'd turn my own father against me?"
Esther shook her head. "Niklaus, I told you, Ayana…"
"I found the spell you used in your grimoire, Esther. We know it was you. You're dying anyway. Just tell them the truth. They deserve that much," Elena said.
Elijah nodded. "Answer the question, Mother. Why did you do it?"
Esther looked at Klaus. "I was trying to protect you. You needed someone to keep you in line, to be kept weak. I needed to make sure you didn't activate your curse."
Klaus snarled. "You say it was to protect me?! No, you were protecting yourself! You didn't want Father finding out you cheated on him!"
"And it was for nothing because I already knew. How stupid did you think I was? Of course, I knew you were cheating on me. I mostly even knew that Niklaus was not mine. You didn't have to do this! I loved him!" Mikael said angrily.
"She didn't," Klaus said as he looked at his mother with both anger and hurt. "All this time, I thought Father hated me, but it was you. You were ashamed of me."
Esther shook her head. "No, Niklaus, that's not true. I have always loved you."
Elena stood up and glared at the woman. "Loving mothers don't set their kids up to be abused. They don't try to murder them."
Esther glared at her. "I love them, but they're monsters. Not at much as you though, dear. You are a true abomination!"
"Hold your tongue!" Mikael snapped.
Elene scoffed at Esther's words. "This coming from the woman that is the entire reason for what we are. You're even responsible for me. After all, if you hadn't turned Mikael, I wouldn't exist."
"I came back to correct my mistake," Esther said.
Elena looked at her in disgust. "You are a disgrace to all mothers. You are the example of why some people shouldn't be allowed to reproduce."
"Oh, she had help with that. Apparently nature didn't think she should reproduce either," Finn said.
"Finn," Esther said in a nervous tone.
"I already told Father everything. I'm only sorry I didn't do it a thousand years ago," Finn said.
Elijah frowned at his older brother. "Told him what?"
"I'll explain later, son. For now, I'd like all of you to leave the room," Mikael said. He didn't want any of them to see what happened next.
Slowly, they all began leaving. Rebekah, however, stopped in front of her mother. "When I found out Nik killed you, I tried to have him killed. Now I'm sorry he didn't make it more painful. After what you did to him, to all of us, you should've died in agony!"
"Come on, 'Bekah,'" Kol said before putting an arm around her and leading her out of the room. He didn't say anything to his mother. He had nothing to say. Nothing he said would make a difference anyway.
Mikael waited until all his children were out of the room before he spoke again. "Seven children. You and I had seven children together, and you failed every last one of them. Elena's saving grace was that she was not forced to call you her mother. If only the rest of my children had been so lucky.
"My methods may have been cruel, but I did what I thought was best for this family," Esther said.
"I will not even attempt to understand how you could think an abusive father could be best for this family. I've said all I'm going to on that matter. I only want to know one thing now. What happened to my daughter after you sold her away to that retched woman?" Mikael asked.
"Mikael, I had no choice. If I'd tried to stop her…"
"I don't care for your bloody excuses! I only want to know what became of my child! Did Freya lead a happy life? Did she live to adulthood? Did you encounter her on the Other Side?" Mikael demanded to know.
"No. I had hoped that she'd come to the Other Side, but she never did. Dahlia was always obsessed with immortality. It's all she spoke about, even when we were young. I wondered if she accomplished that," Esther said.
"Are you telling me my daughter may still be alive?" Mikael asked in disbelief. He never considered the possibility that his daughter could be alive. He just wanted to know what her fate had been. He wanted to know she was at peace. But if she was alive, he would find her.
"She could be. I don't know," Esther said.
"Then I will have to find her myself? In the meantime, allow me to speed up the process of your inevitable demise," Mikael said before rushing towards her and swiftly breaking her neck. He watched her fall to the ground with a thud. If was over. She could never hurt his children again.