𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐈𝐊 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐎𝐍, 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫

Chapter 36

It was over. Mikael's centuries of tyranny and escape were finally over. A great sense of relief washed over the siblings as they watched his ashes float away, never to be seen again. The Destroyer was now destroyed. Nobody spoke for a few moments. The siblings felt like they were in a trance. Their hateful father was now gone.

Elijah sank down to his knees and Finn caught him before he could fall, holding Elijah against his chest. He could feel the usually refined man shake against him and his heart sunk. He then knew. Elijah had been strong for too long. His other arm around Kol's waist, pulling him flush against his side so that they were together, giving them both the comfort that they needed. He had been in the coffin for the last 9OO years and he didn't understand the extent of what they had gone through. But now he saw how serious it was.

He thought back to when he said that they should divide. If only he had been stronger. If he hadn't been so pathetic, he wouldn't have missed out on so much of his vampire life. He had been rotting in a box longer than he had been a man. Was it too late to step up? He was going to be a good older sibling to them. He only hoped that they would accept him. Rebekah ran out and hugged Klaus who caught her before she broke down completely again in his arms. Klaus held her close to himself tightly and swayed her gently in his arms.

Jeremy waited for a few moments and stepped outside where the rest of his siblings were. Kol was in a trance. Finn had his eyes closed and he was putting on a brave face for the sake of his younger siblings. Jeremy leant his head on Kol's shoulder, threading his fingers with his. He took a deep breath before speaking. "It's over.. He's gone.. It's gonna be OK" he whispered softly. Kol inhaled sharply. He could feel the tears come forward and this time he didn't bother to hide away.

It wasn't weak to cry. He wouldn't get judged for doing so. He shakily took a breath. "Yeah.. It's over," he whispered softly and closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling of being around his siblings. They could get through anything if they were together.

— — —

"My children gather around," Esther spoke as her eyes travelled to each child. She wanted to be a family again but she had some plans. But first she needed to get them all together. "I'm thinking of holding a ball," she began. Jeremy furrowed his brows and looked confused. Before he could say anything, Finn beat him to it and asked. "Why do you want to do that, mother?" he asked. Esther smiled at her loyal, eldest son. She knew that he would help her with his true plans and she couldn't wait to break the news to him.

"As I want us to be a family again, I thought that I would flaunt off my perfect children to the town," she explained. "A celebration of unity, taking back what was lost. My family" she said and looked each of them in the eye. Rebekah took a deep breath and spoke up. "I'll organise some invitations and I'll think of some things in order to decorate the hall," she said with a smile. After everything that she had been through, she desperately needed the distraction and she could tell that the rest of her siblings needed it too. Esther didn't know what happened a few hours ago.

She didn't know that her own children had killed their father. She thought that they were exploring the town. The Mikaelson matriarch smiled, nodding her head. Little by little, her plan was going forward. "Good. I'll have tailors come and take your measurements over the week and I'll get some planners to come and help us decorate. Let's show the town of Mystic Falls who the Mikaelsons really are," she said with a smile. Elijah cleared his throat. "Of course, mother," he said and tried his best not to cringe.

The term 'mother' sounded sour on his tongue but he hoped that it would pass. The rest of them voiced their agreement. "I'm glad that all of you are on board," she said, folding her hands in front of her. "Finn, may I speak to you, please?" she requested. Finn's heart sunk. She had been saying strange things to him. "I'm fixing what I broke," and, "I need my loyal son to help me" Her words made him feel extremely uneasy and he didn't like it at all.

He suspected that she would tell him exactly what she meant by her words and he was dreading it. He took a deep breath and ignored the curious looks that were thrown at him by the rest of his family. "Of course, mother" he said with a tight, tense smile and he followed her up the stairs, the eyes of his siblings burning the back of his head.

In her room, Esther put up a privacy spell before she spoke. "My son, you are probably wondering why I'm asking to meet with you privately. But I need your help," his heart was hammering painfully in his chest at her words. "I need to fix the balance. Making you all into vampires has tainted the balance and I need to put it right. I need to kill my children. I had a different plan for my youngest son but I decided against it. He will suffer the effects of all your deaths. But I need you to sacrifice yourself in order for me to kill them."

Finn's throat ran dry at her words and he inhaled sharply. He knew that it was something bad that she was planning but he didn't think that it would be the murder of her own children.

"What?" he whispered hoarsely. Esther smiled but there was danger behind the smile. "My son, you hate being a vampire so help me do this thing. Your loyalty towards me will be rewarded greatly," she declared, her eyes shining. "They locked you in that coffin for 9OO years. You've missed out on most of your vampire life," she spat the term 'vampire' as if it was a curse. "It won't be too much of a loss," she said flippantly. "You don't understand the ways of this century, so it would be best to get rid of you. What was that vampire you liked? What was her name?" she asked.

Finn tensed up. "Sage? Ah yes, that's her name. I bet that she's forgotten about you," she said cruelly and pierced daggers at him with her eyes. "Nobody loves you or cares about you apart from me," she said in a dark tone of voice.

Her words were harsh but she needed him to understand that her sons and her daughter didn't care for him. If she made him understand this then it would be easier for him to handle what she needed to do.

Finn clenched his fists and tried not to lash out. He was using all of insecurities and issues against him but he couldn't help but feel sad. Was he that useless? But he was forgotten while the rest of his siblings were awake. He bit his lip. She was right. He didn't understand anything and he knew that he was extremely boring. Nobody would even miss him. Nobody would even notice that he died or would even mourn his death. The thought almost made him cry.

"Even your brother who claims to be good and noble allowed you to rot in that casket. They don't care about you. You even hate yourself, you even said so. I know that you do. So help me with this and I will make sure that you will have a beautiful afterlife," she said with a soft smile as she ended her speech. Finn clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "Fine." He said at last. "I'll do it," he spat and made his way to stand up only to find that he couldn't stand up,nor move any part of his body. He panicked and tried his best to fight it but he was nothing against the magic.

Esther smirked and her eyes were evil. "Just to make sure that you don't blab to the rest of them," she said as she came closer towards her son. Finn growled, his vampire features on display. He was almost shocked himself because he always repressed his vampire side as much as possible so that he appeared human. Esther chuckled softly and put her hands on her son's head. Finn growled again. "Stop, what are you doing?!" he demanded but he was powerless. Esther just cooed, quieting him as if he was a baby again. "You won't remember this conversation" she declared as she let him go.

Finn gasped as he felt lightheaded and he looked at his 'mother' with an evil look before he stumbled out of the room. When he was outside, he was met with Jeremy. He was looking at him anxiously as if he was waiting for him to say something. "What did she want?" he asked urgently. Finn opened his mouth to speak. But he couldn't say anything because he couldn't remember what she wanted. Instead he took a deep sigh and breathed, "I don't know," he whispered softly as he sped past him.