Always and Forever

“And if I bring it to you? How do I know you’ll be on my side of this?” He questioned her loyalty. He didn’t trust her. She never gave him a reason too.

“You don’t. But our family works best when we are together. I make a far better friend than I do an enemy, Niklaus.” She replied, “If I meant you harm, do you think I would be so upfront about what I want?”

He studied his mother, seeing if she was lying. He didn’t trust her. “I might be able to find it.” He said. Though something told him his mother wouldn’t be on his side. He intended to stay alive.

“And when you find it, bring it to me. Then you shall have the answers you seek.” Esther reached for a bundle of burning sage and handed it to Niklaus, “Niklaus. Cleanse yourself.” She remembered the many times she had done that for her children, all those years ago. “It is unwise to walk this town with such bad energies.”

“Yeah, well, I would, but-” The last time he’d cried he thought his face had been leaking, and it was weird, and he had no desire to repeat that experience. “Nevermind that. What matters is that you have something I want, and I have something you want. Which means we can help each other. Because I want something I never got the chance to have. Not really, at least.” He sat himself down, before leaning his forearms on his thighs, one of his eyebrows quirking up. “Power. Spellbooks. All of that.”

“Yes, of course I can feel it.” Freya replied. She knew something was wrong. The dead returning? There was a balance that was off. “If I let you do that, and it’s a big if, you’re not doing it alone.” She didn’t trust her mother to not pull one over on them. 

“You are welcome to join me if you want, Freya. But our ancestors wield considerable power, even from the dead. They will try and convince our spirits to stay with them.” Esther replied, “You will need a symbol. A signature of your magic--” She nodded to the starlings in the window, “Something that can guide you back to this realm from theirs.”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere. Especially when my birdies are male - they’re awfully dense and easy to convince to spill the beans.” It was something Winter had known for years now, at least, and she always used it to her advantage. “I just want to know what it is that you’re doing. And what you’re willing to give to those who help.” She wanted to be magnificent - powerful. Wanted. And she would do just about whatever it took in order to get where she wanted to go.

“You want to contact our ancestors? To what end?” Freya asked. “What could you possibly need from them?” 

“The magical energies in this town feel off. Can you not feel it?” Esther replied, “Our ancestors possess great wisdom; they may be able to shed some light on what is going on.”

“Don’t give me such a sour look- I brought what you wanted. Which, by the way, I’m kind of offended you didn’t ask me in the first place. And I’ll even give it to you, if you do something for me in return. Payment is the least of my worries.” He’d heard whispers, of course. Of whatever it was this woman was looking for, and as always, Kai was always on the lookout for situations that could end up benefitting him.

She couldn’t believe her mother’s words, the audacity she had to look Rebekah in her face and judge her like that, after everything. ‘You speak to me about absolving myself of my sins when you’re here victimizing yourself that all you ever did was for the good of your children? Don’t you get that everything is because of you and father, that it’s all your fault? We weren’t supposed to become vampires, mother, we were never meant to live like monsters.” the blonde spoke, raising her tone once more; if Esther was good at something, that was making Rebekah’s emotions overtake her. She turned her back for a quick moment, wiping away the few tears that escaped her eyes before returning to the previous position, continuing to speak. “And don’t you dare judge me for what I did to Niklaus. I was terrified he would never accept me and Marcel being together and I did what I had to do, for love. Yet that’s something I will have to live with for the rest of my life, regretting my decision of calling father. And I will be forever indebted to Niklaus for forgiving me; and if anything, we are now equal due to all those years he kept me daggered in a box, over and over again. But that is none of your concern, that’s mine and Nik’s problem.” another tear rolled down her cheeks, forcing Rebekah to take a seat in order to calm down before she’d actually explode for good; Esther’s calmness made her furious but Bekah knew her mother and how cold and unfazed she could be at times. After all, she hadn’t changed so much from Rebekah’s childhood.

‘Mother, peace?’ her brows raised, arms now crossing over her chest while her boot tapped against the floor, anger building up again. Rebekah knew she had to control herself, only to not give Esther the satisfaction of seeing her like that; she took a deep breath before speaking again. “Peace? have you ever asked us what we want? How I have always wanted to be human, to have a family of my own.. how all Niklaus wanted was to be with his daughter, to see her grow and be at her side, how Elijah wanted to live happily next to Hayley, Kol with Davina and Freya with Keelin? We all want to lead a normal life, together with our family. But we’ve been cursed, from the beginning. So don’t think, not even for a second that you, of all Mikaelsons, could have such a life. Because no matter where you’ll go, chaos and death will follow. You’ll be hunted by your past just like the rest of us, mother. ‘

“So you understand what it is like to fear for the ones you love? To wake up every day and worry that your sibling might swoop into your life and steal all that you held dear?” Esther let her words sink in, “The werewolves were a convenient excuse but I could think of no other way to protect you from my sister’s wrath. If not for my spell, she would have come for your children and what chance would you stand against her? Even Kol, with all his cunning and magical prowess, was nothing compared to what she could do. Believe me: I cast my spell only after I was certain that our family would not be able to fight her off.” She moved slowly, handing Rebekah a tissue. “It is a decision I regret. But if we went back in time, I cannot say I wouldn’t do it again.

“My past? My past is dead, Rebekah. Dahlia found peace. Ansel met his end. My parents never made it to the other side.” Esther looked suddenly vulnerable, “The only past I have left are you; my children. If none of you want anything to do with me, what could possibly haunt me?” She rose to her feet and turned her back on Rebekah, dabbing one eye dry when she was sure her daughter couldn’t see her. “For what little it is worth, I do not hate what you’ve become any more. I loathe the death and blood that you spill so easily,” She turned to face Rebekah. “But I find in pride in knowing you used your skills to save the innocent - like the casket girls, and seeing you fight against my sister brought back memories of the girl I knew... All those years ago.”

at first hope said nothing, she was used to people wanting her dead. “and i’m your grandchild, you may not have been directly linked to my birth but i wouldn’t have been here without you.” it made knowing how hard esther fought to kill her even worse. “yes i care about him, i’m the also reason he is where he is. i have to get him back.” if it meant working with esther to get landon back she would do it, it would also save her friends from getting their hands dirty. 

“Even after a thousand years, the hands of fate are as mysterious to me now as when I was a child.” Esther replied, her attention briefly fluttering elsewhere. Several long moments passed by before she looked back at Hope. “Then let's find him. Do you have an atlas or map of the world? We will also need something of his.” She paused, “And witches thread: do you have any?”

“I heard you were asking around about witches,” Winter started carefully, her footsteps light as she walked further into the room, a faint crease forming between her eyebrows as she did.·“And I got curious.” Winter, by no means, was a bad person, but she was drawn to power, so who could blame her for getting curious, right? She had questions. And she was willing to trade just about anything in order to actually have them answered.

“And which little birdie told you that, hm?” Esther’s expression was unwavering, her posture betraying her confidence; she’d already taken the liberty of heavily enchanting her workshop.·“Speak freely, child.” She replied, brushing past the girl to make sure she hadn’t been followed.·“What is it that you’re curious about?”

“What do you know about our return?” He couldn’t help but wonder if his mother had any hand to play in their return to the living.

“It was a force strong enough to pull even my soul against its will.” Esther replied, “I’ve been curious about it, myself. But my ability to investigate is hindered by my missing grimoire: if you were to find it for me, I might have more answers for you, Niklaus.”

“Ten minutes for what?” Freya replied. “Saying vague things like this isn’t going to convince me.” 

“I require an item imbued with our family’s magical energy.” Esther admitted, finally. “Preferably something from our homeland: I want to contact our ancestors.”

“Well, it’s not that much of a disadvantage. I’m a nobody,” she stated with a shrug. It wasn’t like she had any power or hidden motives. “I’m Tessa Carson. I teach supernatural history at the school. I’ve done lots of research on the origin of vampires. I pretty much know it all, but then again, all that I know is from the Originals, people who knew them. Not necessarily from the person who made them,” she explained, taking a few steps more into the room. “That is understandable. Every parent wants that. But did you have any idea of the consequences, of what would require them to be immortal and strong? Did you approve of the way your husband hunted them down? Did you want to fix your mistakes because of Dahlia or because you regretted what you made them into?” she asked. “I’m not asking to be rude or hurt your feelings. I genuinely just want to know. All the stories sort of paint you as a horrible person, but I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”

“Supernatural history? There are some stories that are better forgotten; the creation of vampires should be one of them. To teach the story will only encourage other witches to tap into that dark magic.” Esther handed Tessa a small teacup, on a saucer, which was filled to the brim with tea. “Magic always requires sacrifice. A spell as powerful as the one I used on my children would always have consequences; I didn’t know what they would be but I knew I was not powerful enough to create a perfect spell.” She explained, taking a sip of her tea. “The bloodlust was unexpected. It was only in hindsight that I realized that a spell born from blood would need to be fed. Over and over again.

“The switch was even more insidious. It was a manifestation of my desire to protect my children from all harm - even the harm they inflicted on others.” She sighed, “It was the switch that transformed my children to monsters.”

“Don’t pull this self righteous act with me, I can see right through it.” Freya replied. “I know my siblings will side with me on my decision. None of us trust you, thus I don’t trust you with that book back in your hands, regardless of if you have it’s contents memorized or not.” 

“Consider this: if I were up to no good, why would I confront you rather than retrieving my sister’s book of spells?” Esther replied as another starling perched near the window and tapped the glass with its beak. “All I need is ten minutes with my grimoire, Freya; you can even watch me as I work.”

“So the rumors are true.” One face he didn’t want to see alive again. “Hello, mother.” 

“I never thought you were one to listen to idle gossip.” Esther turned to face her son, her expression unreadable. “To what do I owe this pleasure, my child?”