The Beautiful and the Faultless | Cami O'Connell

Chapter 9

Finn was good company.

He had given her a tour of the house they were in, the Mikaelson Mansion the Originals had apparently owned in Mystic Falls. Finn had liked it, and therefore, he lingered here for comfort. Ingrid found it nice, but she hoped she wouldn't need to stay there long.

In the meantime, she had vented. Told him everything leading up to the point they were at now. He was patient and a good listener as she relayed her entire life story. She half expected him to be taking notes and saving his questions for the end.

"You made the right choice," said Finn once she'd finished. "I believe you have a lot to live for, now that you are free. I admit, it would have saddened me if I had heard that you did not get to enjoy that. You and Freya deserve it."

"You hardly know me," said Ingrid quietly. "And yet you believe I am deserving of that?"

"You are a good woman, Ingrid. You are honorable... more so than my siblings."

She sat with him as they reached the living room. "You despise them so much. You even tried to kill Hope."

Finn glanced away. "I am not proud of it. I admit... for once, I shoved my morality aside out of desperation and fear." He stared at the ceiling. "My siblings deemed me too much of a bore to be allowed out of my coffin. In that time I have grown bitter. I already resented their existence, and now..."

"On their end, I understand the constant judgment was not pleasant," she said. "But on your end, I can see it, too, why you comported yourself that way. Esther forced you into secrecy when she gave away Freya. You grew dependent on her, attached because of your trauma. You saw her having more children, essentially replacing Freya, and so you hated them, instead of her, because of that fear. That bond. I can imagine it was stressful to try and help them stay under the radar while Mikael was hunting all of you, only for them to refuse to see reason in any way."

He sighed. "I wished to go off on my own. To live in solitude... where my vampirism could hurt no one. I only turned one person in my entire life. Sage. How I loved her. And even then my passions overtook my morals. I've long since wished to be free of this. And when I was... I suppose I did allow it to make me vindictive. I acted no better than a vampire. Manipulating and attempting to murder."

"I think, if we were able to bring you back, it would be healthy for you to get your freedom, too," said Ingrid. "If I am able to return to my body... I would choose to stay in New Orleans with everyone, because I've never had a family like this. And considering I will likely lose my magic for some time... it would be nice to have them there to help me. But in your case, you work better without family. You feel more comfortable alone. And that is perfectly alright. Provided you do not try to harm them based on your wishes to be at peace. Provided you don't lay a hand on Hope, ever."

She imagined if anyone else was chastising Finn about his behavior, it wouldn't have ended well. But, it seemed she and Freya were his favorites, of the entire family. And so, he didn't retort in a cruel way.

"I would have liked for things to be different," he said thoughtfully. "Alas..."

She sighed. "Unfortunately happiness avoided us for a long time. Though I fear I will struggle to find it again when I return... I hope it isn't too far out of reach."

"Be careful, Ingrid," he warned. "Be wary of who you trust, even among my siblings. Elijah conceals his darkness. Niklaus is controlling and malicious. Kol is psychotic. Rebekah... well, my sister is driven by lust and often cares for nothing else, but even she can be... what's the term? A bitch, when she wishes to be."

"I'll be careful, I promise. After all... I will barely be getting to know them. We might not like each other. Living in the Compound might not be ideal, long term. But until I get my magic back and am able to remove the Crescent Curse... I ought to be there to keep Hope safe. I don't know if showing Freya the spell will work. A certain degree of that is linked to me and it will not be easy."