An hour later, Elena was much calmer. Kol brought her back to her room and helped her with some breathing exercises to help her calm down.
"Are you doing better?" Kol asked.
"Yeah, thanks. You know a lot about this, huh?" Elena asked.
Kol nodded. "I was a powerful witch, not nearly as powerful as you, but I was also prone to emotional outbursts. I had to learn to control it."
"Was it like it is for me?" Elena asked.
"No, but my magic wasn't blocked. It was allowed to grow naturally," Kol said.
"But even if it hadn't been blocked, I wouldn't have had it for very long, right? Witches get their powers when they're close to adulthood, don't they?" Elena asked.
"It happens like that often, but not always. It depends on how strong the witch is. I untapped my magic when I was probably around ten. You probably would've received yours much earlier. Magic reveals itself when it's ready to be let out. Yours was trapped in your body. All it could do was continue to pent up inside you until it was either released or it forced itself out. Truthfully, even if my mother hadn't unblocked you, your magic would've broken that block son enough," Kol told her.
"Can you teach me how to control it? I know you're not a witch anymore, but you know a lot about magic. Can you help me?" Elena asked.
"Of course, darling. Finn and I can both help you," Kol assured her.
"Thanks. You know, I thought Klaus kept you daggered because you were dangerous, but you're really nice," Elena said.
Kol gasped in mock horror. "Don't be saying things like that. I am not nice. I am mean, scary, and bloodthirsty."
Elena smiled. "Sorry, but you're not the least bit scary to me."
"Well, you're the exception. You're my niece. Don't go telling people though. I don't need people thinking I've lost my touch," Kol said.
Elena shook her head. "You were nice to me even before you found out we were related."
"Well, you had the potential to set me on fire. Of course, I was nice to you. It's self-preservation, darling," Kol said.
Elena chuckled in response.
"So, can I assume you've accepted the truth?" Kol asked.
Elena's smile faded. "It's hard to deny it after everything Abby said. It's a hell of a story to make up, and if it's true, it stands to reason that the rest is too. I still want to hear what Esther has to say."
"Elena, I really don't think that's a good idea. We were all there. We can tell you what she said," Kol said.
"It's not just that. I need to confront her. I need her to hear the pain she's caused. Maybe it won't do any good, but I think I deserve that much," Elena said.
"You do. We're just concerned. My mother is dangerous," he said.
"Trust me, no one knows that better than me right now," Elena said with a shudder. She knew that at the ball when she thought Esther was planning to kill her kids. She certainly knew it now. "Kol, I'm sorry about helping Esther when I thought she was going to kill you all. I shouldn't have done that. I just wanted to protect myself and my loved ones from Klaus.
"It's all in the past now, love. It was forgotten the moment we found out the truth. And just so you know, Nik will never hurt you again. He'll never even try to," Kol said.
"Rebekah said the same thing. I…I don't know how to feel about any of this. I hate Klaus. He took everything from me. When I see him, I want to hurt him," Elena said.
Kol chuckled. "That's okay. He brings that feeling out in all of us sometimes. I know it probably doesn't help much, but he wouldn't have touched you if he knew."
"It doesn't, but thanks for trying. I still hate him. I don't know if I'll ever be able to feel anything else. Rebekah… I don't hate her, but I also don't know how to feel. Things were rocky between us. She tried to kill me a few days ago. I know it's partially my fault though," Elena said.
"It is not!" A strong voice said.
Elena looked up to see Rebekah in the doorway to her open room.
"It is in no way your fault," Rebekah said firmly.
"I daggered you," Elena said.
"Kol, let us have the room please," Rebekah told her brother.
Kol nodded before heading out of the room. He shut the door behind him.
Rebekah walked further into the room and sat down on the bed. "Yes, you daggered me, but you did that protect your loved ones. You were right last night when you said I would do the same. There is nothing I wouldn't do for my family."
"I know. It doesn't make it right though. I shouldn't have done that. It directly led to you wanting me dead. You weren't right either, but it was partially my fault," Elena said.
"No, it wasn't. Never believe it is okay for me to hurt you," Rebekah said. She'd grown up believing that a parent harming you was the norm. She didn't want her own daughter having that mindset.
"I hurt you too," Elena pointed out.
"You didn't know," she said.
"You didn't know either," Elena replied.
"That's not entirely true. I didn't know the facts, but I told you that I always felt a connection to you. A part of me knew. I chose to ignore that part. I will never forgive myself for that or for hurting you. You would be right to hate me for it," Rebekah said.
"I don't hate you, Rebekah. I don't trust you very much though, and I don't know how to see you as a mom," Elena said.
"That's fair. I will have to earn your trust and the right to call myself your mother. I'll do everything I can to make that happen," Rebekah said.
Elena nodded in response. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course. Ask me anything. It would make sense for you to have questions," Rebekah said.
"Did you want me? It's just that you were younger than me when I was born, right? It couldn't have been planned," Elena said.
"No, it wasn't planned, but don't let that make you think I didn't want you. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I wanted you. Don't get me wrong, I was terrified, but I loved you. Losing you was the hardest thing I've ever faced," Rebekah said with a shudder.
"Last night when you mentioned that not everyone in your family survives, you were talking about me, weren't you?" Elena asked.
"Yes. Losing Henrik was extremely painful as well, but nothing compared to losing you. I don't know how I even survived it," Rebekah said. She had wanted to die when she found out her child was gone. A part of her did die. It made it that much harder to deal with being a vampire when she was turned. She hadn't wanted to live forever. She hadn't even wanted to live another day. It was a long time before any part of her wanted to live.
"Finn said that the reason that your mother did this was because her sister would come after me. He said that she's still after me. She must be powerful to still be alive," Elena said.
"I will not allow anyone to hurt you again," Rebekah swore.
"I still want to talk to Esther," Elena said.
Rebekah sighed. She'd hoped that now that Elena had accepted the truth, she'd forget about talking to her mother. She should've known better. Elena was her kid after all. "Alright, but what I told you before still stands. We will all be present and you're not to get too close to her."
"Okay," Elena said.
"I'd like to wait a couple of days for your emotions to calm down a little," Rebekah said.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I guess I can't go back to school either," Elena said. It stood to reason that she couldn't. Every time she got the least bit upset, things broke or people got hurt. She'd hurled Klaus through the air twice and almost set Kol on fire.
"Not for a while. We can make sure you stay caught up though. We can't risk a human tutor, but the five of us have been around long enough to have enough knowledge to help you learn. Most of that knowledge will probably come from Elijah," Rebekah said.
Elena chuckled in response. "You know, maybe it won't be so bad being here. It's not exactly what I want, but it hasn't been terrible so far. The only person I truly hate here is Klaus. I like Elijah and Kol. Kol's nice."
Rebekah laughed. "I think you're the first person to ever describe Kol as nice."
"Yeah, he was a little put out by that when I said it to his face," she said.
"I'll bet. There's no bigger insult to him. He loves you though. All my siblings do, even Nik. I know it will be hard for you to forgive him, and maybe you never will, but I hope that you'll have chance to get to know his softer side. He does have one, even if he hides it well. Elijah will probably be strict with you at times, but he will always be there for you. Finn is harder for me to gauge, but he stood with us when Mother wanted to use you as a weapon. I believe he will be there for you as well. As for Kol, I'm glad you like him, but don't let him rope you into one of his schemes because he will try."
"Yeah, I gathered that he was a schemer. One of the first things he asked me to do was to set Klaus on fire. I wasn't too put out by it actually," Elena said with a smirk.
Rebekah laughed. "I think we've all had that urge."
"Can I just have some time alone. I need to think," Elena said.
"Of course. I'll be downstairs," Rebekah said before standing up and heading out of the room.