After A Thousand Years | Esther Mikaelson

Chapter Five

 Lise was home.

 It was the home she once knew, centuries ago, long before Mystic Falls was founded. Everything was the same, just as she remembered it, before little Henrik's death changed it all. 

 And the house, their house. It was standing there, just as it was, waiting for her.

 She slowly walked inside, prepared for whatever was inside. Instead of anything gruesome or horrible, she could hear small voices and the laughter of children.

 "Lise." Esther was by the fire, preparing supper. "I've been waiting for you to get back. Help me with supper, will you? The children are off playing, and Mikael should return soon." 

 Lise smiled at her, and she smiled back.

 And then everything turned dark. The house and the children's voices faded away, but the fire remained, and grew.

 There was voices, voices all around, whispering.

 "Why, Lise?" she heard. "How could you?"

 "Mikael?" she said softly. And then, louder, "Mikael? Where are you?"

 "How could you do it to me? How could you betray my trust in that way?"

 She didn't have to ask what he meant: she knew.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I couldn't stop it. I tried to not to feel it, I truly did, but-"

 "Lise!"

 "Esther?" Lise went running through the fire and smoke, following the sound. "Esther!"

 "Lise!"

 "Don't move!" Lise shouted. "I'll find you!"

 "Lise, please!"
 
 "Esther-"

~~~~~~

 "For God's sake, Lise, WAKE UP!"

 Elisabet woke with a gasp, and bolted up. "Where is she?"

 "Where's who?" Klaus asked. He was standing over her where she was still lying on the sofa, moaning and shouting from seemed to be a nightmare.

 "Esther! She was screaming my name, and I couldn't find her. And Mikael..." 

 Klaus sighed. "Lise, that was a nightmare. Mikael is dead, and Esther's missing. Don't you remember anything we discussed last night? I should have known you wouldn't have a grip on reality." 

 She sighed and slumped back on the sofa. "Of course. I'm sorry if I disturbed anyone. I don't know where that dream came from."

 "Well, Finn disappeared along with Mother, and Kol and Elijah seem to have run off, so I don't think you need to worry about disturbing anyone."

 "Right." It was certainly quiet in the mansion, much too quiet for Elisabet's taste. "Are you going out anywhere?"

 He shook his head. "I don't think so. Rebekah's off somewhere, probably trying to find out if there's still any white oak around. I hope you realize that if there is still some around, you're in danger, too."

 She nodded. "I know. You know what?" She got up from the sofa. "I'm hungry. I'm off to the woods for something to eat."

 "I don't think you're going many humans in the woods," Klaus said as she was heading for the door.

 "And who says I feed on humans?" she called before the door closed behind her.

~~~~~~

 "He's not here, Mikael," Lise said. "We should leave."

 Mikael did not respond, staring blankly at the mess they had made. Lise sighed and sat down on the stone floor. She was hungry; they'd barely had any blood in days.

 But there were a few vampires here, ones they had knocked out with vervain, ones that weren't dead. 

 "What are you doing?" Mikael asked as she bent over one of them.

 "We need to feed on something, Mikael," she said.

 She carefully sunk her fangs into the victim's neck. With her first taste, she could feel her energy begin to return to her. She drank on, desiring more and more.

 When it seemed she had drained her victim dry, she looked up at her cousin, blood staining her mouth. "Well? Go on. Try it. You'll feel better."

 Mikael hesitantly grabbed hold of one of the other vampires, who was just regaining consciousness, and sunk his fangs in. Lise silently listened to the victim's cries as Mikael drained the life from him.

 They had just made a new discovery.

~~~~~~

 There was only a small number of vampires in Mystic Falls, and Elisabet didn't want to start anymore trouble with any of the locals, so she went out into the woods to go hunting for animals instead. After the night they realized they could feed on other vampires, she and Mikael had vowed to never drink human blood again. She wasn't going to break that vow merely because Mikael was gone.

 This entire ordeal had given her quite a bit to think about, so she spent a lot of time walking silently among the trees. Mikael was supposed to kill Klaus, and once that was done, they would have had their revenge, and they would have been free. What they would have done then, she had no idea, but they would have had time to figure that out.

 Mikael being gone was a living nightmare for Elisabet. He had always been there for her, through everything. She could still remember losing her parents when she was a little girl, when a horrid disease had come to her village. Mikael had found her hiding away in a corner, afraid she was going to die, too. He had taken by the hand and told her not to be afraid, and took her to his own home, where she stayed with him and his parents. They were both only children, and didn't know what it was like have a brother or sister, and that how they began to feel towards each other, like brother and sister.

 The other issue was Esther. Elisabet didn't need an explanation as to why she tried to kill her children; she already knew, and understood. She just wished she knew where Esther was so she could tell her that.

 "Elisabet?"

 She was startled by the sudden sound of someone calling her name, and turned around to see a familiar red-haired woman walking towards her.

 "Sage?" It was indeed Sage, the woman who had once tried so hard to win Finn's affections. Elisabet remembered her, but only vaguely.

 "Yes, it's me," Sage said. "I hadn't realized you were in town, as well. Have you seen Finn?"

 "Only briefly the other night," Elisabet answered. "Are you looking for him?"

 She nodded. "And I can't find him."

 "Well...I'll come with you if you're going into town," Elisabet said. "There's a threat to us Originals going around, anyway, and I feel like it's something I should give some attention."